Boy, is it good to get back to this story! :) I've missed it!

So last time, I know we found out more about Aelin's past and what her deep dark secret is. And then Thorin wants to forget about their passionate encounter from earlier and Aelin is now upset by it, seeing as how that was when her feelings for him secretly began. Things are gonna get a little rocky from here (pun intended, since we're about to hit the stone giants xD haha!)

Enjoy! :)

.

A couple more days had passed for the company while trying to cross the Misty Mountains. Luckily for Aelin, her leg was starting to adjust to all the climbing and the walking and she wasn't falling behind nearly as much as she had before. She felt like a better part of the group now that she could keep up with everyone.

However, she found that she was distancing herself from Thorin a little bit. What he had said about forgetting their encounter at the Trollshaws had hurt her, proving to her that he did not care for her the way she cared for him…even though she practically knew that from the beginning. She found it was just harder for her to be around him, so she kept herself near the middle or the back of the line if she could either by Nori or by Fili and Kili.

One afternoon, the company had stopped for a brief rest and everyone was scattered throughout the area. Nori and Aelin were sitting together, just having a simple conversation about the journey thus far as well as her progress with her leg and shoulder.

As they were talking, Aelin felt something move on both of her legs. She looked down to see that one of the sheaths that held her knives was being pulled and when she looked back, there was Fili slipping one of her knives out with Kili right behind him. Realizing they had been caught, Fili held the knife behind his back and they both jumped back a foot.

"Why, you little thieves!" she cried, jumping up to her feet.

"Takes one to know one," Fili replied.

"I'll get you for that one," she said, pointing a warning finger at him, and then proceeded to walk towards him.

Fili stepped back again and then turned his head, calling, "Brother, catch!" He tossed the knife in the air over to Kili, who jumped up and caught it carefully by the handle.

For whatever reason, Aelin found this move unexpected at first, but then she figured she should've seen it coming and she rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Kili, give it back," she prompted the young Dwarf, holding out her hand.

Kili just grinned slyly. "If you want it…come and claim it," he taunted her.

"Oh, just give her back the knife," said Nori.

"No, no, it's all right, Nori," said Aelin, holding up a hand to him. Then she returned Kili's smug grin with one of her own. "If it is a challenge they want, then a challenge they will get."

The two of them stared each other down for a brief moment until Aelin made the first move, going towards Kili.

The youngest Dwarf was quick and yelled, "Fili!" as he tossed the knife in the air back to his brother. By this time, all of the other members of the company were watching them, having heard the three of them yelling to each other.

However, Aelin saw it coming and had a plan in mind that would thwart them. Just as Kili called Fili's name and the knife was about to leave his hand, she practically leapt the other direction towards Fili and proceeded to crouch down and swung her leg around into his ankles, catching him off guard and knocking him down on his back. Using her speedy momentum, she spun herself in a full circle, coming back up into a standing position, pulled her remaining knife out of its sheath and pointed it at Kili, who she heard coming up behind her. While she kept him in place, she lifted her arm above her head and caught the knife that Kili had thrown. She then pointed it at Fili on the ground, a look of satisfaction and triumph on her face.

Cheers of awe rang out from the others and most of them began to applaud.

"That was amazing!" cried Ori.

"Well done, Aelin!" added Bofur.

"I have never seen anyone move that fast in my life!" said Gloin.

"That's my girl!" Nori exclaimed, throwing his fist in the air.

She bowed her head to them, showing her thanks, and then turned her attention back to the young Dwarves.

"Yield, lads," she told them with a smirk, looking back and forth between them.

Both Fili and Kili were still wide-eyed with surprise after being tricked and seeing Aelin move so fast and for a few seconds, all they could do was stare at her. Then it was Fili who finally said, "All right, we yield."

Satisfied, Aelin lowered both her knives and slipped them into their sheaths. Then she offered a hand to Fili to help him up and he took a hold of it.

As she pulled him up, she told him, "Lesson number one, Fili: never try to steal from a master thief."

"I thought you weren't a thief anymore?" he asked her as he brushed the dirt off his clothes.

"I'm not," she answered. "I haven't stolen for myself in a long time. The last couple years, I only stole things for people who paid me for my services and even so, I am finished with that. I am done stealing."

"That's not entirely true," she heard Thorin say. When she turned to look at him, he said, "You stole my pouch of gold coins on the road to Bag-End."

Aelin noticed that he had a good-natured expression on his face, so it was clear that he was only bringing it up to tease her. She snickered, pointed a finger at him and replied, "Oi, I gave that back to you, remember? I only took it to give you a hard time; I had no intention of actually keeping it."

Thorin's lips turned up in a half grin and he shook his head at her. Aelin smiled back at him, but then turned away quickly. Even though she and Thorin were still considered on good terms, it still was hard for her to look at him for long periods of time without feeling a pain in her chest.

Fili then spoke to get her attention, "We're sorry, Aelin, for taking your knife. We just wanted to get a better look at the inscription on it since the last time I asked about it, you wouldn't tell me what it said."

She chuckled as she remembered giving Fili a bad time about him wanting to know what was on her knife just before they left the Shire. She figured that she had made him wait long enough.

She let out a sigh of fake defeat, "Oh, well…I suppose I'll tell you," she said.

"Really?" Kili asked excitedly.

Aelin nodded and then motioned to them with her head to come closer. Once both Fili and Kili were standing on either side of her, she pulled out one of her knives and held it up in her hands for them to see.

"Kili, can you read it? I couldn't make out everything the last time I looked," Fili said to his brother.

Kili leaned closer to the knife, squinting, and then a few seconds later, he shook his head. "No, I can't make out all the runes either."

"You're still learning, I know," said Aelin.

"So what does it say?" asked Kili.

Aelin grinned and said, "I will tell you the Khuzdul translation for it and see if you can figure it out."

"Well, that, we do know," Fili said proudly.

"Good," Aelin replied. Then she straightened up and told them, "The Khuzdul translation is yazârnu sanzigil makhaha nimthurul 'abban."

The two young Dwarves stood there pondering for a moment, trying to translate the Khuzdul to the Common Tongue, until Fili cried out in answer, "It means 'even mithril is found among stone'."

"Aye, that is correct, my friend," Aelin responded.

"Though what does that mean exactly?" Kili asked curiously.

Right then, they heard Thorin's voice behind them answer, "It is an old Dwarven proverb." They turned around to see him standing close behind them with his hands behind his back. He continued, moving around so that all three of them could see him, "It means that riches or beauty can come from humble origins."

A lump formed in Aelin's throat as Thorin said the meaning of the phrase inscribed on her mithril knives. Something about him saying that made her feel so many different emotions at once: joy and sadness combined with confusion. It amused her to see that he knew what it meant, but everything else that was going on with him still affected her despite how glad his knowledge made her.

But she masked those thoughts by mustering a smile and saying with a respectful tilt of her head, "Well done, Master Dwarf."

"That is perfect for you," Fili commented.

She chuckled and replied, "Thank you, Fili." Then she looked down contemplatively at the knife in her hand, turning it over repeatedly. Then she told them, "My uncle Amar made these for me when I was young. He was a blacksmith and was given a task of forging a few things with a shipment of mithril that was given to him. Once he finished, he was left with some extra and he forged them into these knives. He inscribed this old proverb into the blades to remind me of where I came from. He always had such high hopes for me…not knowing that my life would turn out completely different from how we both thought it would be. He promised I would get the knives and learn to use them once I was older." Then her face and her voice grew sad. "Unfortunately, he was killed before he got the chance to teach me and I took them with me when I ran away. These knives were the last gifts he ever gave me…and all that I have left of him."

Fili and Kili as well as Thorin could hear the sadness in her voice as she spoke of her late uncle and they felt sorry for her. They remembered that Amar was the only real guardian she ever had whom she had loved and lost so early on in her life.

"I'm so sorry, Aelin," Kili told her, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"They are beautiful knives," added Fili. "They are a great gift. I am sure your uncle would be proud to know you still have them and have learned to use them so well."

She twirled one of them in her hand. "I'd like to think so," she commented. "I know he thought that I would have a better life with him, would grow up to be great and successful and he wanted me to always remember who raised me to be a good woman. But sadly, my life didn't turn out that way."

"You still turned out to be a great woman," said Fili to try and make her feel better.

She chuckled. "I am glad you think so," she told him. She then explained, looking back and forth between the two brothers, "I now think of this Dwarven proverb a little differently. I can never forget how I started out: as a child on the streets who suffered many hardships. While my past still affects me in some ways and I know I can never run away from it, I do my best to try and grow from it. Over the years, I have come to realize many things from that. My past does not define me. My wisdom is from experience. My confidence hides my insecurities. My weakness makes me stronger." Then her eyes turned towards Thorin as she made her last statement, "My passion comes from pain…and my calm masks a storm."

Thorin held her gaze for a moment, feeling something stir within him. He knew that she was a strong woman, but just something about listening to her words just now made him see her a little differently; she really was stronger than she thought. And yet there was something in her last statement that puzzled him. It had seemed as though she had directed her final words towards him specifically.

"My passion comes from pain…and my calm masks a storm."

What had she meant by that and why had she said as if it pertained to him? Despite his confusion, Thorin still couldn't help but feel impressed by her courage to choose to grow from her experiences, even though they still affected her.

"Well said, Aelin," said Kili, breaking the silence.

"Thank you for telling us all of that," added Fili. "That was very inspiring."

"You are welcome. I'm pleased to hear that," said Aelin as she put her knife back into its sheath.

The two lads gave her a light pat on her shoulder and told her they were going to go rest for the remaining time they had left until the company was to make way again. After that, they walked away and left Aelin where she stood.

However, Thorin remained near her and Aelin took notice of it. When she saw he wasn't leaving and he looked a bit confused, she asked him, "Can I help you?"

He was silent briefly and then asked, "What did you mean by that?"

"By what?" she inquired.

"When you said 'my passion comes from pain and my calm masks a storm'," he replied, taking a step closer. "You spoke as if you were speaking directly to me."

"What made you think that?" she asked in response, trying to avoid giving him the real answer.

Thorin, however, wasn't fazed by it. "You looked right at me, Aelin," he stated. "Do not think I didn't notice."

Aelin just shrugged. "That was just merely coincidence," she said, turning to walk away.

But then Thorin swerved in front of her and stopped her. "No, it was not," he said in a low voice. He stepped closer to her, lessening the distance between them. "You're hiding something," he whispered.

For a moment, Aelin said nothing and just stared back at him. "Does he know…?" she wondered.

But then he said to her, "Aelin, I am your friend. If there is something troubling you, you can tell me. You can trust me."

There was her answer. "No…he still doesn't know." She should've known that Thorin wouldn't catch on; she knew he wouldn't figure out that she was trying to say she cared for him and was suffering emotionally because of that. Sometimes he was just too thick-headed for his own good!

She let out a tiny sigh, knowing it wouldn't matter even if he did know and that she just had to keep pretending like everything was all right…like she always did. "I know you are my friend, Thorin, and I do trust you," she told him, "but I am fine. Nothing is troubling me."

His eyes narrowed at her. "Are you sure?" he asked, unsure if he believed her or not.

It took a lot of strength for her to nod her head and answer him, "Aye...you don't need to worry about me." With that being said, she turned around and walked back over to where Nori and his brothers were.

"But I do worry about you…more than you realize," Thorin thought as he watched her leave.

He gave the company a couple more minutes until he gave out the order that it was time for them to get underway again and resume travelling. They still had a long way to go.

That night, as they made their way further up the mountain pass, a terrible storm hit. Turrets of hard rain poured down on the company like an endless waterfall. The wind lashed harshly at their faces, the skies were lit with lightning bolts and the mountain seemed to tremble from the roaring thunder that followed the lightning.

"Hey! Hold on!" Thorin cried out to everyone behind him in the line as they continued their way up a thin cliff side.

Not a moment after he said that, Bilbo nearly took a spill over the edge himself. His foot had slipped and he began to rock back and forth. Luckily, Dwalin and Bofur were able to grab his shoulders and pull him back to safety.

"We must find shelter!" Thorin shouted above the wind.

"Look out!" Dwalin bellowed.

All heads turned to see a massive boulder suddenly flying towards them, which crashed into the mountain above them and exploded into innumerable pieces that now threatened to land upon their heads.

"Take cover!" Gloin cried.

The company threw themselves up against the wall, covering their heads to avoid getting hit by the falling rocks. Nori put Aelin between him and the wall, being more concerned about shielding her than himself.

"This is no thunderstorm!" Balin observed as the last of the falling rocks disappeared. "It's a thunder battle! Look!"

In the distance, they all could see a large moving figure through the fog of the storm. It was completely made out of stone and it broke a piece of stone from the mountainside as if it were a twig on a tree.

"Well, bless me!" Bofur gasped out loud. Then he shouted, "The legends are true! Giants! Stone giants!"

The stone giant they saw before them suddenly hurled the rock over its head and they watched as the massive rock made contact with another stone giant that apparently was standing not too far behind them.

"Take cover, you fool!" Thorin yelled to Bofur, who was standing too close to the edge and was pulled back by another Dwarf.

"Hold on!" shouted Dwalin to the company as they felt the mountain begin to shake and tremble.

Aelin tried her best to keep herself up, but found herself slipping on the wet ground and Nori held her around the shoulders to keep her balance.

Just then she heard Fili behind her yell, "Kili, grab my hand!" When she turned her head, she saw that the ground had split between the two brothers and they were moving farther apart. When she then looked up, she realized that they were all on yet another stone giant! They were standing on its legs and that was why the ground had split apart. The stone giant that was behind them came up to the one on which they were standing and knocked its head with its own, which sent the giant stumbling backwards and, in turn, was moving the leg that Aelin and half of the company was on at a speedy rate towards the actual mountain. Very soon, it collided with a mountain and stayed there just for a moment; enough time for them to jump off to safety.

"Go, go, go!" Thorin shouted as he ran to the ledge.

"Run! Get off, get off!" Balin followed up as they all followed Thorin off to the mountain ledge.

Aelin noticed that Kili was the only one left behind her. "Kili, go on ahead of me! Go!" she told him, backing herself against the wall and motioning with her arm for him to keep going past her. She could tell by his face that he was surprised and about ready to protest, so immediately, she said, "Don't argue, just go!" He listened to her and climbed quickly around her and jumped to safety.

But then, just as Aelin was about to go, the stone giant's leg started to move and she stumbled a bit, trying to keep her balance. She saw that she was moving slowly away from the others.

"Oh, no…!" she gasped out loud.

"Aelin, jump! Hurry!" she heard Nori shout.

There was still a reasonable distance left between her and the others that Aelin felt confident in jumping. So she ran to the edge and leapt as far as she could. However, it wasn't as good a jump as she thought and her foot barely tapped the stony ground before she started to slide down the edge, crying out in fear as she did so.

"Aelin!" she heard Thorin shout.

Just as she thought that she was about to plummet down into the deep, dark abyss, her fall was stopped as she felt someone grab both of her hands and she hung where she was in midair. When she looked up, there was Nori leaning over the edge with Kili and Gloin holding onto his waist to keep him from falling over.

"I've got you, sister!" Nori told her as he began pulling her up with help from the two other Dwarves.

Aelin let out a sigh of relief, knowing that Nori had been close enough to catch her. For a second, she really thought she was done for. As he pulled her up, Nori repositioned his hands and wrapped his arms around her underneath her shoulders. She put her own arms around his neck and he gave one final pull to get her up onto the ledge. Just as she set her feet down, someone cried, "Look out!" as another stone giant's huge rocky fist swung and collided with the wall above their heads and they all ducked against the wall again. There they stayed because, just as that avalanche of rocks subsided, the head of a stone giant crashed above them, sending another wave of rocks raining down on them.

Just then, they saw the rest of the company swing right in front of them on the leg of the stone giant they had all just jumped off of. They were all hanging on for dear life as the stone giant was moving rather fast.

"Come on!" Thorin urged them but they were already too far.

They observed that the stone giant the others were on was starting to fall backwards, sending its legs towards the mountain that they were standing on.

"Hold on!" Aelin cried out.

Then all they could do was watch in horror as the stone giant's knee collided around a corner from them with the mountain wall, breaking into a hundred pieces, with the rest of the company still on it.

"NO! No!" Thorin yelled in despair.

Not a second later, the stone giant's leg lifted as it then fell into the darkness below and the remaining Dwarves noticed the others were no longer on it. It was then that they all feared the worst.

"No!" Thorin cried out again as they all ran along the edge to get to where they believed the others were.

The line then stopped, as they all couldn't get around the corner on the slim edge they were already standing, and they waited for word from Thorin at the front.

"It's all right! They're alive!" Gloin then exclaimed joyfully to everyone else.

The others heaved a sigh of utter relief, knowing their companions had survived.

But then, fear struck them all again as they heard Bofur cry, "Where's Bilbo? Where's the Hobbit?"

Aelin heard his cry and leaned a little more forward to try and see past the others and see if she could spot Bilbo. Sure enough, she caught sight of him dangling on a ledge just below where the others had crashed.

"There!" she shouted, pointing to where he was.

"Get him!" Dwalin shouted as Ori saw him and tried to grab him. But just as he reached down, Bilbo's hand slipped and he caught another protruding edge a few inches down, letting out a cry of pain from the pull in his arm.

Aelin watched what was happening, afraid for the Hobbit's life and hoping they'd be able to retrieve him. So far, Ori and Bofur weren't having much luck. They couldn't even reach him.

Right then, she saw Thorin hoist himself down over the edge to go after him. Her heart began to race, terrified, as she watched him get a good foothold, reach down and grab Bilbo's pack. Using his strength, he lifted and pushed him up to where Ori and Bofur were still waiting with their hands outstretched. They grabbed Bilbo by the hands and hauled him up. The Hobbit was now safe. Aelin was glad that he was all right, but kept her attention on Thorin just to be assured that he would get back up just as well. She saw Thorin reach up for Dwalin to help him up, but his foot slipped on the wet rock and his began to fall.

"No!" Aelin cried with terror and she about jumped off the ledge herself.

Just as she felt Nori grab her around the arm to keep her from falling, she saw Dwalin swiftly drop down and catch Thorin before he fell any further. He hung there briefly until Dwalin got a good grip on him and was able to pull him up safely.

Aelin felt she could breathe again and let out a large exhale. Her heart had nearly stopped at seeing Thorin fall, thinking he was about to fall to his death. Now, just picturing what could've happened made her body feel number than the cold, blasting rain that drenched her. He could have died not a moment ago had Dwalin not been there…and she was too far away that there would've been nothing she could've done to save him and that thought scared her. She had almost lost her friend; the Dwarf that she cared so much about.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Nori giving her a nudge and saying, "Oi, are you all right, Aelin?"

"Aye, I'm fine," she replied, kind of waving it all off. It was then she noticed that everyone in front of them was moving forward and she added, "Come on, the others are moving."

When they turned the corner, they found there was an entrance to a cave inside the mountain that the others were filing into.

"There's nothing here," they heard Dwalin say loudly.

As Nori and Aelin walked into the now lantern-lit cave and dropped their things to the ground, they saw Gloin get on his knees, put some firewood on the ground and proclaimed, "Right then! Let's get a fire started!"

"No, no fires. Not in this place," Thorin ordered him. Then he looked around to the rest of the company and told them, "Get some sleep. We start at first light."

"We were to wait in the mountains until Gandalf joined us. That was the plan," Balin said back.

"Plans change," Thorin replied. Then afterwards he told Bofur to take the first watch and then went off to a corner where he had laid his things. After he set his sword down, he noticed Aelin going off towards the back of the cave. He felt relieved to see her still with them. He had been afraid when he almost saw her fall off the cliff earlier and he was not prepared to lose a member of his company, especially her. He and Aelin had only begun to grow close to each other over the last few days and he didn't want to lose her so soon after that. He knew from the beginning that it was a possibility that members of his company could die during the journey, but he was not ready to lose anyone yet. Certainly not Aelin. He hoped that she was all right after that entire ordeal they had all just endured.

After watching her disappear around a corner, he felt that he should go talk to her. Although, just as he took a step forward to do it, he saw Balin getting up and heading in her same direction and he then figured that Balin had the same idea. So instead, he decided to let his old friend handle her and he would inquire to her wellbeing later.

"Aelin? Are you all right, dear?" asked Balin as he came around the corner in the back of the cave and found Aelin just sitting on her bedroll, staring down at her hands in her lap.

"As well as can be expected," she replied without looking up at him.

When she didn't look back at him and continued to look down, Balin knew right away that something was wrong. Being an old Dwarf gave him rather good instincts, he thought.

"Lass…," he said as he sat himself down in front of her, "…I can tell that something is troubling you. Are you still a bit shaken after everything that happened out there?"

She shook her head and answered, "No, not really."

"Then what is it?"

Aelin was silent and continued looking down and fidgeting with her hands. She wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to Balin about it and hoped that maybe he would give up and leave.

"It has something to do with Thorin, doesn't it?"

She lifted her head in surprise and gaped at him. But then, to try and hide her surprise, she asked, "What makes you think that?"

"Dear, I may be old, but I am neither blind nor witless," he answered, giving her a skeptic look. When she didn't respond, he continued, "I have noticed how close the two of you have grown recently; I have seen that you have become friends. I know it is scary to almost lose someone you care about."

"It's not like that," Aelin commented without thinking. When Balin raised his eyebrows curiously at her, she sighed in defeat and told him, "It's…more than that."

"How do you mean?" he asked.

"I…I care about him, but not…," Aelin started, but she was hesitant to finish her statement.

Then Balin hummed in understanding and nodded his head, figuring out what she was trying to say. "You care about him as more than just a friend," he finished for her.

She nodded in reply. "I do. However…I know I care for him, but at the same time…I am not entirely sure how I feel exactly. I have never felt like this before about anyone."

"Tell me," he invited.

She was silent for a moment, trying to find the right words to say. Fortunately, Balin was patient and waited quietly for her to speak.

Finally, she explained, "I feel as though I am a different person when I'm with him; a better person. I have enjoyed his company immensely and I was touched by his kindness in helping to take care of me when I was hurt. He is just unlike any Dwarf I have ever met." She went quiet for a minute as other thoughts came to mind and then she looked to the older Dwarf in front of her. "Balin…what does it mean when I trust him…I have faith in him…I need him…I care about him…I can't lose him…and I protect him?"

Balin's expression then changed from one of curiosity to one of delight and a bright smile crossed his face. He knew exactly what she was trying to say.

Without breaking eye contact with her, he gladly answered, "You love him."

Somehow, that was not the answer Aelin was expecting. She thought that couldn't be right and she stared at him, puzzled. Her mind started spinning around and she found herself unable to speak for a moment. That answer just seemed too overwhelming.

"What? No…no, that can't be possible," she stated. "It can't really be love. There is no way!"

"Lass, do not bother," Balin told her with a wave of his hand. "You are speaking to the oldest Dwarf here. In my numerous years on this earth, I have seen many things…including the signs of a young woman in love." To help soothe what he observed was her fear of the unknown, he reached out and took her hand in his and patted the back of it with the other. "Dear child…I can understand what you are experiencing right now: the apprehension of unfamiliar feelings and emotions. Love is indeed a very powerful feeling and not many recognize it right away."

"But how…how are you certain that that is what I feel for Thorin?"

"As I said: I have seen how close you two have become. That and I noticed your reaction when Thorin nearly fell before. You about threw yourself after him."

Aelin looked away timidly. She had hoped no one else had noticed that.

He went on, "Do not be embarrassed, it is understandable. But Aelin…do not try to deny what is in your heart. It will only cause you great amounts of heartache."

At hearing those words, she hung her head. "It's too late for that," she said lowly.

"What do you mean?"

"I already know that Thorin doesn't feel the same."

"Has he said as much to you?"

"He may as well have. Even so…do you honestly think that someone like him could love someone like me?"

Balin shrugged yet smiled. "It's not for me to say…but I believe you would be surprised."

Aelin shook her head. "I rather doubt it. He is a King and I am as low as the dirt beneath his boots. No King would ever stoop so low." She then pulled her hand out of his and turned herself away from Balin.

He could tell that she wasn't really in the mood for talking anymore. He pitied her for not believing in herself and her own personal worth. He knew that Thorin valued her and he believed it was possible that Thorin could love her in the same way she loved him…but she refused to see it. She indeed was a stubborn one, that much was certain, but he also believed that one day soon, she would realize how wrong she was.

"Do not give up hope, Aelin," were the last words he spoke to her before he got up and left her alone.

Aelin did not reply, but simply sat there and listened to him leave. Once she was certain he was out of earshot, she released a shaky sigh and brought a hand over her heart as it began pounding hard in her chest.

Did she really love Thorin? Had her feelings for him grown that strong? The more she contemplated it, the more believable it began to seem, given everything they had been through thus far…but then that only made her heartache even worse. She felt that strongly for him and yet knew it wasn't reciprocated.

"I don't know how much more of this I can take…it's too much…!" she thought to herself, putting her head down into the palms of her hands.

Finally, she laid herself down on her bedroll and closed her eyes, hoping to at least get a little sleep before they had to move on again and hoping that it would take her thoughts off of Thorin for a little while.

.

Poor Aelin...doesn't seem to be getting any easier :P

Forgive me if the part with the stone giants seemed a little choppy or rushed. I already wrote it in detail in "Home Is" and so I kinda just ended up jumping through it. That one's a hard scene to describe in writing xD

So what do you think? Do you think Thorin actually feels the same about Aelin at this point or is he not quite there yet?

You know the drill! Leave a review or PM me with your thoughts!

See ya'll soon! :)