Sorry this took so long, it's been a bit hard to write lately and I'm not entirely happy with this chapter. Please don't kill me. XD

The dwarves were much relieved at the men of Lake Town's services. They were given better clothes, better weapons, housing for the night, and lots of drink. Most, got right into it, the dwarves even making Bilbo drink some to stop him catching a cold that was slowly coming on. The two who didn't, were Thorin and Anyekia.

Anyekia was sitting apart from the rest of them, staring at the mountain through the window, the longer she stared, the worse the feeling in the pit of her stomach became. Finally, tiring of the noise of the steadily drinking dwarves, she says good night and retreats to her room, having been the only one who got one to herself.

As she shut her door, she could a feel a pair of blue eyes watching her and she meets them briefly before her doors shuts. The noise was less in here and for that, she was grateful, moving to the small balcony, glad that it did not face the mountain.

It was a little while before her door opened, but she did not notice, she was too busy taking in the dim lit streets of Lake Town, warm light coming from only a few of the houses, something she knew should be more given the time of year.

"You pick an excellent way to catch a cold." A voice grumbles from behind her, causing her to jump and turn.

"Thorin." She says quietly. "Knocking would have been more polite."

"I could not risk getting any of their attention." He says quietly, joining her on the balcony. "It was easier to slip away quietly, let alone knocking on your door."

Anyekia's mouth twitches in a small smile. "Feeling secretive are we?"

Thorin looks at her, his expression unreadable. "Secretive? No…" He wraps his arms around her, causing an odd squeak as he rests his forehead against hers. "More…seeking a private moment."

Her face turned red, as she smiled. "Private moment huh? And what did I do to earn such a thing from the King?"

"Many a things." He said softly, his eyes were shut, content to just hold her. "Including him wondering if you are alright?"

Anyekia wraps her arms around his neck, causing his eyes to open to look at her worriedly. "A little emotional, a little worried, a little sore, but still fighting fit."

His gaze turns affectionate and he kisses her lightly. "You are a very strong woman Anyekia."

"Only because I choose to show it that way." She says it lightly, but he caught her meaning, pulling her closer.

"No, it is definitely that way." He mumbles into her hair and placing soft kisses on her temple. "Because that is what I see, even through all the pain you are going through, emotionally, mentally, physically, I still see the strong woman I love beneath it."

She smiles into his chest. "I love you too Thorin Oakenshield."

Thorin's grip tightens on her. "I know you do. I want you to know that whatever happens, you will own my heart, always."

Anyekia had the feeling that Thorin had understood more of her conversation with Thranduil than he had let on, but she said nothing, content with being held tightly in his arms.

He sighs into her hair, and she feels him relax slightly. "Anyekia…I wish to ask you something."

But she knew him, knew what he was going to ask, and instead of letting him do it, she simply tilted her head up and pressed her lips into his. He gives a soft moan of appreciation, allowing the gentle kisses to move into deeper ones.

For a moment, he barely breaks the kiss, his hesitation clear. "Are you sure?"

"If I wasn't, I would've already kicked you out." Came her reply.

He chuckles. "You wouldn't have."

"I guess you'll never know." She pulls him back into the kiss before he can continue talking. Truth be told, she wanted a distraction, she wanted to forget about it all for a night and not worry about what the future was possibly about to throw at them.

Thorin was happy to oblige.

Gentle, tender touches quickly turn into desperate hungry ones, equally filled with desire for the other. Anyekia took Thorin's hand and led him back into the room, towards the bed, he pauses for a moment, stoking the fire to get it burning again, taking the night chill from the room, before his arms returned around her and they were lost to kisses again.

It didn't take long for clothes to be stripped and to heavily tumble onto the bed. In amongst awkward giggles, they managed to untangle their hair and get themselves comfortable together. The night was spent exploring, learning, loving each other, until finally, they rested.

Thorin had pull the blankets up tightly around them, Anyekia resting on his chest, content on falling asleep there. His fingers were brushing through her hair and they both felt happier than what they had in a long time.

Anyekia felt his hands moving differently and she opens her eyes slightly to tilt her head back to look at him. "What are you doing?"

He was concentrating on what he was doing with her hair, his fingers working skilfully. "Braiding your hair." He finishes the braid and takes one of the beads out of his own and puts it in hers.

Despite what they had just done together, she found herself blushing. "Thorin…"

"Hush love." He lets the braid rest down the side of her face and kisses her forehead lightly. "Go to sleep. We still have a fair way to go."

"Thorin, you know I do not have-"

"We will worry about it later." His blue eyes stare into hers as he thumbs the bead in her hair. "For now, this will be enough."

A smile breaks across her face, and she lifts herself up enough to kiss him, before settling back down on his chest, his arms wrapping securely around her, both content now to let the night pass them by.

It didn't take long for the dwarves to work out what had happened between Thorin and Anyekia the night before, those that missed the courting braid in her hair at first, could simply see it in the way they reacted with each other, often in small touches and fleeting glances with loving smiles.

They packed what they could and made their way out into Lake Town, Thorin and Anyekia staying close together. They reach where almost all of Lake Town has come to see them off and start to pack the boat they have been provided, the Master talking some nonsense behind them but Anyekia has little interest in listening to the man.

It wasn't until Thorin starts to talk to his nephews that she looks up. He was telling Kili to stay, who was looking very ill indeed, and Fili was disagreeing intently, finally trying to walk away from them and join his brother.

Thorin goes to move after him but Anyekia grabs his arm. "Leave him be." She says softly. "They need each other Thorin, they can join us later."

His gaze softens holding hers and he agrees with a nod, saying farewell to them and Oin, who joins them to care for Kili. Anyekia knew that it hurt to leave his nephews behind, but she also knew that Erebor was going to be no place for healing Kili.

As they neared the mountain, Anyekia struggled to fight off the feeling of unease that was settling over her and she grew increasingly restless in the boat, Thorin having to make her sit down several time as every time she stood, it made the boat rock.

She also found she had a headache brewing, something she did not share with the rest of them.

They reached the shore and Anyekia was the first off the boat, happy to have her feet on solid ground and to be moving again. The dwarves simply took it as enthusiasm, something that they too were filled with, even Thorin had an eager look on his face, but Bilbo saw straight through it, seeing her agitation as she took off ahead of them and he hurried to catch up.

"Anyekia, wait." He called after her and she paused for a moment, looking at him as he caught up. "Are you alright?"

"Of course." She said it impatiently and kept moving, but he kept up with her now.

"Anyekia...if you don't want to keep going, then why are you?" Bilbo asks quietly, so the others could not hear, despite the distance.

"It's not a matter of not wanting to," She answers, despite wanting to hide it all. "It's a matter that I must. This is necessary for me to do Bilbo, no matter the cost."

Bilbo stares at her for a moment and his gaze moves to the braid in her hair. "And what of Thorin's cost?"

This gives her a moment of hesitation. "Let us hope that it won't come to that."

"And if it does?"

She thinks, licking her lips nervously. "If it does…then promise me you will keep him away from me."

They stare at each other.

"I will do what I can." Bilbo says gently, understanding in his gaze. "But I don't know what I could do to hold him back."

A small grin crosses Anyekia's face. "Trust me, Master Baggins, you have a greater sway over that oaf than you think."

"Who's an oaf?" A voice grumbled behind them and they turned to find Thorin watching them.

"You, love." She says with an affectionate smile. "Clearly only an oaf would start such an ill prepared quest."

He raises an eyebrow. "So what does that make the one that followed?"

"A fool, but I've never denied being one."

Thorin snorts and the three of them finish the climb together, coming up to a ridge overlooking the ruins of Dale.

"What is this place?" Bilbo asks, staring with wonder at the dead city.

"It was once the city of Dale. Now, it is a ruin. The Desolation of Smaug." Balin answers him, joining them.

Thorin sees the nearest path leading them towards Dale and Erebor. "The sun will soon reach midday. We must find the hidden door into the mountain before it sets. This way."

Bilbo looked around them quickly. "Wait. Is this the overlook? Gandalf said to meet him here, on no account were we to-"

"Do you see him?" Thorin asks quickly. "We have no time to wait upon the wizard. We're on our own. Come." He starts along the path and the dwarves follow.

Anyekia hadn't moved, her head pounding more. She was wishing that Gandalf was here.

"Anyekia?"

She turns and looks at Bilbo, who was waiting for her. With a small smile, she follows.

They came to where the map showed where the hidden door was and spent the next several hours searching for it. Eventually, Anyekia's headache got so bad that she had to sit down to try and ease it away, Thorin torn between checking on her and searching for the door.

Finally, there was a shout from Bilbo.

"Up here!"

They ran over to where he stood and stared up at the large dwarven figure carved into the mountainside. It was clear there was a path leading up to where they needed to go.

"You have keen eyes, Master Baggins." Thorin says and looks over at Anyekia, who had joined them. "Are you up for this?"

"Well, I'm certainly not staying down here." She says it quickly and moves away to the path, Thorin quickly following to help her along.

"Hopefully this will do him some good." Balin mumbles to Bilbo as he walks past.

Bilbo nods. "Hopefully it will do them both some good."

It was bordering on sunset as they reached the top of the path, Anyekia staying well clear of the edge, having already almost fallen once after her head had exploded in pain for a moment, Thorin had quickly grabbed her and steadied her until it had passed.

They stood before the clear blank wall of the mountainside, looking at it expectantly as Thorin runs his hands over the surface. Several of the dwarves approach it and try and work out where the keyhole is as the sun starts to set.

Anyekia goes to tell them to wait, when they start to hit it and the sound goes straight through her head, causing her to wince and hold herself to try and ease the pain, and all her thoughts became a foggy mess.

Even after they stopped, the last of the light disappearing, her head did not clear. She could make out their voices, but not much of it made sense to her.

"The last light of Durin's Day…will shine upon the keyhole." Thorin says expectantly as they were plunged into the darkness of night. "That is what is says. What did we miss?" He looks expectantly at Anyekia, but when he sees her head in her hands, he takes it as defeat and looks to Balin. "What did we miss, Balin?"

Balin sighs, his shoulders sunken. "We've lost the light. There no more to be done. We had but one chance. Come away lads. It's over."

Bilbo looks at all of them, defeated and dejected, and they start to leave. "Wait a minute, what?" He looks at Thorin, who was holding the map and key. "Where are they going? You can't give up now!" The dwarves are leaving and Thorin drops the key. "Thorin-" And shoves the map into Bilbo's hands. "You can't give up now."

Anyekia watches them leave and groans, she wanted to talk, but her head still hurt too much to allow her to. Bilbo was looking at the wall, trying to work out the message on the map and what else it could possibly mean.

Her head seemed to calm for a moment and she lets out a slow breath. "The moon…idiots, its old dwarven…it works off the moon…"

At that moment, the moon came out, illuminating the doorway and showing the keyhole.

Bilbo laughed. "The last light! The keyhole!" He moves and shouts down to the dwarves. "Come back! Come back! It's the light of the moon! The last moon of Autumn!"

"Which I'm sure I originally said." Anyekia mumbles, looking up as Bilbo starts to look for the key.

"Where's the key? Where the key?" He was moving around quickly, try to see the key when his foot hits the key, spinning it towards the edge.

Thorin's foot lands on the cord, stopping the key's fall, and he bends slowly to pick it up. They were all standing there expectantly, watching as Thorin approached the door. He placed the key in door and unlocked it, leaning in, the stone door swings open.

Slowly, Thorin steps inside.

"Erebor…" His hand reached up and touches the wall, his eyes going distant. "I know these halls…"

Balin had followed, his eyes full of tears. "Thorin…"

Thorin clasped him on the shoulder. "You remember it, Balin. Chambers filled with golden light."

"I remember." Balin says, looking around.

The rest of the Company had followed, turning to read the engraving above the door.

"Herein lies the seventh kingdom of Durin's folk. May the heart of the mountain unite all dwarves in defence of this home." Gloin reads.

"The throne of the king." Balin says, the engraving looking like a throne with a shining light above it.

"What's that above it?" Bilbo asked, looking on in wonder.

"The Arkenstone."

"The Arkenstone? And what's that?"

Thorin approaches Bilbo. "That, Master Burglar, is why you are here."

Anyekia was leaning against the doorway. "Never mind the dragon."

Thorin looks at her, her eyes looking extremely tired. "No one has heard of Smaug in sixty years."

"That does not mean he is not here." She clutches her head, her form sinking slightly against the door.

Thorin walks over to her and helps her up. "Come on, let's sit you outside."

"Thorin-"

"No, you need to sit outside." He gently moves her. "Balin, take Master Baggins deeper inside."

The Company all share a look, but there was little they could say. Thorin taking Anyekia back outside and sitting her down, and as Balin led Bilbo away, they knew there was little they could do, but wait.