I can't believe this is already the 20th chapter and that we are soon reaching the end of the Desolation of Smaug already! I couldn't think of a better title for this chapter unfortunately but I hope you will still enjoy it. As always, thanks for favouriting/following and let me know why you think!

Chapter XX : Laketown

"They may not be the best fit, but they'll keep you warm" Bard said while little Tilda was handing out dry clothes to the dwarves who were trying to warm themselves up by the fire.

"Thank you" Bilbo whispered when the little girl gave him a coat. He was shivering, with the winter approaching, it was getting colder everyday in these parts. Durin's day would very soon be upon them.

Luna came back at that moment with Sigrid from another room where she had gone to get changed in intimacy. She had been given one of Tilda's dresses which were the only clothes in the house that might fit her, Sigird's being too big for her. It might be a child's dress and not very fancy either but she had arranged it in such a way that it looked quite good on her and she had cut the edges so that it would come up to her knees which would be more practical in case she needed to fight. Of course, she had kept her pants and boots underneath it.

Sigrid gave her a shawl to wrap around her shoulders and she buckled her belt around her waist then went to sit next to Fili and Kili after thanking Bard's daughter.

"Look at you, you almost look like a girl now" Fili teased her. "Don't you think, brother?"

Kili shrugged his shoulders without even turning his glance towards them. His leg was hurting so badly now that he could barely put his weight on it without feeling a burning pain running all along it. Fili's smile disappeared from his face.

"Are you alright?" he asked, now really worried.

"I'm fine" Kili replied a bit too harshly to convince him.

"Kili, if you're hurt…" Luna started.

"I'm okay, just let me be"

Fili and the young girl exchanged a look full of concern but didn't insist. Hopefully, the young dwarf was just tired.

She looked around the room at the dwarves sitting here and there and her glance landed on Dwalin towards which she walked.

"Dwalin…thank you for saving me in the river" she humbly said.

He shook his head. "Guards and captains look after each other, right?"

"Yes, but thanks anyway" she returned his smile.

"Ye know lass…ye shouldn't pay too much attention to what Thorin said" he then added in a lower tone by fear of being heard.

"No, he was right. I didn't do a great job back there, on the bridge. If I had been more careful, I could have kept Kili from being hurt and you wouldn't have had to risk your life to save me"

"If ye hadn't been there, lass, he would have gotten that arrow straight in his heart. Actually, if ye hadn't been there, we wouldn't even have passed Rivendell, no doubt. As for the risking my life, it is my duty as much as yours, for this we're in the same boat and I'm proud to be in it with you"

"Thank you" she whispered with a little smile. "My father was always right about you, you're the greatest guard a captain could wish for"

At that moment, they heard Thorin mutter something at the window through which he had been gazing and obviously seeing something, "A dwarfish wind-lance"

"You look like you've seen a ghost" Bilbo remarked.

"He has" Balin softly said, "The last time we saw such a weapon, a city was on fire. It was the day the dragon came, the day that Smaug destroyed Dale. Girion, the lord of the city, rallied his bowmen to fire upon the beast…but a dragon's hide is tough, tougher than the strongest armour. Only a black arrow, fired from a wind lance could have pierced the dragon's hide and few of those arrows were ever made. The stow was running low when Girion made his last stand"

"Had the aim of men had been true that day, much would have been different" Thorin whispered.

"You speak as if you were there" Bard raised an eyebrow.

"All dwarves know the tale" Luna intervened. Her youth would hopefully convince the bargeman that it was true, she could not have been there on that dreadful day, or at least not have been old enough to remember.

"Then you would know that Girion hit the dragon" Bain said quite dryly, "He loosened a scale under the left wing. One more shot and he would have killed the beast"

"That's a fairy story, lad" Dwalin chuckled, "Nothing more"

Thorin stepped forwards and shot Bard a sharp look.

"You took our money" he changed the subject, "Where are our weapons?"

"Wait here" the man replied after a short pause then walked away.

As soon as he was out of the room, Thorin gestured for his nephews and Luna to come near him and Balin.

"Tomorrow begins the last days of autumn" he whispered to them.

"Durin's day falls the morning after next" Balin nodded. "We must reach the mountain before then"

"But if we do not? If we fail to find the hidden door before that time?" Kili asked, his voice full of an usual worry that aggravated Luna's concern for him.

"Then this quest has been for nothing" Fili muttered under his breath.

"We will find the door" Luna cut them in a determined tone. "We did not come all this way to miss it just like that"

Thorin seemed about to say something but footsteps were heard and Bard came back in the room, carrying a long parcel that he put down on the table.

The dwarves gathered around around him while he was unwrapping it and when they discovered the hammers, iron bars and other tools laid down on the table, most of them expressed their disappointment by all sorts of grunts and exclamations.

"What is this?" Thorin growled, taking hold of a tool.

"A pike hook" Bard answered, "Made from an old harpoon"

"And this?" Kili asked with a frown.

"A crow bill we call it, made from a smithy's hammer. It's heavy in hand, I grant you but in defence of your life, these will serve you better than none"

"We paid you for weapons" Gloin argued. "Iron-forged swords and axes!"

"It's a joke!" Bofur exclaimed, throwing the tool he had picked up back on the table and all imitated him.

"You won't find better weapons outside the city armoury" Bard raised his voice "All iron-forged weapons are held there and locked in key"

"Thorin" Balin took him apart when he saw the frown on his face and Bard's eyes flashed to them, "why not take the offer and go? I've made do with less, so have you. I say we leave now"

"You're not going anywhere" Bard darkly scolded.

"What did you say?" Dwalin hissed.

"There's spies watching this house and probably every dock and wharf in the town. You must wait till nightfall"

All the dwarves were angry but there was nothing they could do for now. Time was too precious to them with Durin's day being so close and they couldn't risk to lose any by acting too hastily.

Bard discreetly slipped out of the house and leaned against a wooden fence.

"Thorin" he whispered to himself. He had heard this name for the first time just now, when the old dwarf had said it, or at least it had rung a bell in his head for the first time ever since his encounter with the dwarves.

He had heard that name before, he was certain of it but where? Unconsciously, his eyes turned towards the distant shape of the lonely mountain, standing tall and imposing in the distance. He had noticed, back on the boat, how the company had all stared at it in admiration, their faces filled with a strange mix of emotions but he hadn't really paid attention to it then : they were dwarves after all, Erebor had been a dwarfish kingdom, it was their people's History they had been contemplating them. What he had not doubted though was that they might have been linked much closer to that History that he had thought.

"Da?" came Bain's voice from the door.

"Don"t let them leave" he whispered to his son before running down the stairs and into the narrow streets of Laketown. Those dwarves in his house were connected to the mountain, there was no doubt about it but he had to know how exactly.

"Kili"

The young dwarf startled and looked up to find Luna standing just in front of him, glaring at him. He had quietly slipped into a corner of the room and sat on a little bench to take a look at his injury which was growing more painful every hour, and he hadn't even noticed the girl coming towards him.

He did his best to smile but it only resulted in a wince of pain.

"Let me have a look"

"No, it's fine" he hurriedly said in a whisper so that the others wouldn't hear them but thankfully, Thorin was talking in hushed tones with Dwalin in the opposite corner of the room and they seemed too busy with their own conversation to sneak a look in their direction.

She did not listen to him though and reached for his bandage but he caught her hands.

"Luna, please…"

"If you don't let me do it, then Thorin will as soon as I tell him"

He paused for a moment and looked up to meet her eyes in which he drowned once again. He really had an issue with Luna's eyes, he couldn't look at them without immediately losing himself in them and it usually took all his will and strengths to turn his own glance away. Every time it happened, he felt like he was peacefully lying on soft grass by a nice summer night, staring at the sky with all the stars filling its deep blue depth.

"Kili" her voice called him back to reality and he blinked several times then let go of her hands and gave a deep sigh.

She carefully unmade the bandage and the concern on her face grew stronger when she saw that the wound wasn't healing as it should.

"It should at least have stopped bleeding by now" she whispered.

"It's alright, I think it's just me who reopened it by a bad move" he tried. She did not look convinced but didn't say anything.

She went to fetch a bowl of water and a clean cloth then proceeded to clean the wound as best as she could.

"Sorry" she said when he winced in pain and she finished by wrapping a new bandage around his leg.

"Thanks" he mumbled.

She sighed and, kneeling in front of him, took his hands and locked eyes with him again.

"Promise me that if it is not better by tomorrow at dawn, you'll tell me" she whispered.

He paused for a short instant, fighting against himself to not fall for her glance again but it was harder than ever when she was giving him such a caring and worried look and that she was holding his hands in hers. He wished at that very moment that they were alone so that he could pull her close against him and know that everything would be alright as long as they were together.

But it couldn't be, if he even dared to do so, she would probably push him back with disgust like she had done when he had kissed her and he was not sure that he could stand it a second time, especially not now that he knew she was his One.

Before he even realised it, he found himself wandering if dwarves could die of a broken heart and thought to himself that maybe knowing his One couldn't love him back was the reason why his injury wasn't healing and slowly draining all his strengths.

"Kili?" she insisted.

"I promise" he vaguely said and that looked to suffice her for now.

She suddenly dropped his hands and stood up when Thorin's voice harshly called them from the other side of the room.

"Kili, Luna, we're leaving. To the armoury"

All Luna could think of as they were discreetly making their way through the streets of Laketown to the armoury was that it definitely wasn't a good idea. Like Balin had said, they should have just taken the weapons Bard had given them and be gone but Thorin didn't share that opinion.

As soon as night had fallen, they had pushed their way past Bain who had bravely tried to stop them and sneaked out of the house and here they were now : hiding around a corner.

"As soon as we get the weapons, we'll make straight for the mountain" Thorin whispered then checked around him to make sure that they weren't being watched. "Go, go, go!"

The dwarves were getting inside the armoury by a window located at the upper level that they reached by stepping on the backs of the strongest of the company that had formed a pyramid.

"Next!" Thorin pushed Bilbo in front of him.

Luna stepped forward in her turn, ready to go but the dwarf held her back.

"You stay there" he said before going in his turn, not leaving her time to protest. Kili was already inside the armoury and he didn't want her to go and distract him.

Luna watched the dwarf disappear through the window with a dark look on her face and Fili, next to her, squeezed her shoulder.

Inside the armoury, the dwarves and Bilbo were taking as many weapons as they could find. Kili passed from one to another and they all piled up axes, swords and others in his arms.

"You're alright?" Thorin whispered to his nephew when he came next to him, noticing how pale his face was.

"I can manage" the young dwarf mumbled, "Let's just get out of here"

He made for the stairs and walked down a few steps when suddenly, the pain from his injury proved too strong for him and his legs gave out beneath him. He fell down a few steps and couldn't avoid grunting in pain but the worst was the loud clattering noise the blades he had been carrying made when they crashed down the stairs.

The dwarves who had stayed outside heard it too and looked at each other in confusion for a few seconds then they all turned their eyes towards Luna, as if expecting her to give some orders and tell them what to do.

"Run" she muttered but they didn't get the chance to go very far : guards were already coming from every direction and they were soon circled with spears pointed right at them while inside the armoury, the dwarves stood motionless as blades were positioned against their throats.

The dwarves' grunts and protestations while they were being pushed towards the master's house were enough to wake the whole town and soon, it looked like every inhabitant had left their house to come and find out what was going on.

They were pushed into a semi-circle facing the house with guards standing behind each and every of them while the people where crowding in front of the big house.

"What is the meaning of this?!" the master angrily hissed, hastily stepping out of his door. He obviously didn't appreciate being disturbed at such a late hour.

"We caught them stealing weapons, sire" a guard answered

"Ah, enemies of the state, heh?"

"It's just a bunch of mercenaries if ever there was, sire" Alfred piped in, standing besides the master.

"Watch your tongue" suddenly came Dwalin's low growl, "you do not know to whom you speak. This is no common criminal, this is Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror"

Thorin put a hand on Dwalin's shoulder and stepped forward.

"We are the dwarves of Erebor. We have come to reclaim our homeland" he declared then looked around him at the crowd. "I remember this town in the great days of old, fleets of boats laid at harbour, filled with silks and fine gems. It was no forsaken town on a lake! This was the centre of all trade in the North!"

Despite the situation, Luna had to admire the way he had gotten the men of lake town to look at him in amazement and respect with only a few words.

"I will see those days return!" he continued, "We'll relight the great forges of the dwarves and send wealth and riches flowing once more from the halls of Erebor!" and everyone cheered.

"Death!" suddenly came a voice and they all turned to see Bard making his way through the crowds and guards until he was standing in front of Thorin. "That's what you will bring upon us! Dragon fire and ruin. If you awaken that beast, it will destroy us all"

"You can listen to this naysayer but I promise you this : if we succeed, all will share in the wealth of the mountain" Thorin faced the inhabitants of the town once again. "You will have enough gold to rebuild Esgaroth ten times over!"

"All of you, listen to me! You must listen!" Bard's voice could hardly manage to cover the loud cheers of his people. "Have you forgotten what happened to Dale? Have you forgotten those who died in the firestorm?! And for what purpose? The blind ambition of a mountain king, so driven by greed he could not see beyond his own desire!"

This time, the men were arguing about the veracity of these facts. Some were obviously frightened by the idea of the dragon while others didn't seem to believe it.

"Enough, enough! We must not, any of us, be too quick to lay blame!" the master finally intervened. "Let us not forget that it was Girion, lord of Dale, your ancestor, who failed to kill the beast" he added, pointing a finger towards Bard. The dwarves turned in surprise towards the man…so that's why his son Bain had seemed to be so well-acquainted with Girion's story.

"It is true, sire. We all know the story. Arrow after arrow he shot, each one missing its mark" Alfrid said, enjoying the discomposure on Bard's face.

The bowman looked around him, obviously none of the inhabitants were ready to listen to him anymore. He locked eyes with Thorin and stepped towards him.

"You have no right" he whispered, "No right to enter that mountain"

"I have the only right" Thorin replied in the same low tone before turning towards the master again. "I speak to the master of the men of the lake. Will you see the prophecy fulfilled? Will you share in the great wealth of our people? What say you?"

"I say onto you…welcome! Welcome, king under the mountain!"

All cheered, including the dwarves, except for Luna who had spent the whole time carefully detailing Bard's face. He now seemed despaired and quickly turned his heels to walk away. She bit her lip, of course she should be happy about this alliance with the master of the town which meant they would get weapons, supplies and a safe way to cross the lake to the mountain, but something inside her was tickling her and she could hear a little voice inside her head telling her that Bard was right. He had been nice and helpful to them even though he had almost no reason of doing so…and they were about to thank him by unleashing a dragon on his home and family.

Drunk men disgustingly staring at every woman their eyes would land on, that's all Luna could see around her at the party that had been given in their honour in the town hall. For such an improvised event, she had been surprised to see how quickly everything had been set up for the night. Dozens of enormous barrels had been brought inside the big room, food had been served, music was being played and the whole town seemed to have come.

The party had now been going for a few hours and it was getting very late. The young girl sighed when she saw that most of the dwarves had drunk a bit too much. She wormed her way through the crowd to get to Thorin who she caught a glimpse of a bit further when a hand suddenly landed on her shoulder and drew her back.

"What do we have here? Such a tiny little woman, look at that" a man laughed. He stank of bah alcohol.

"Leave me alone" she said in a neutral yet firm voice.

"Heh, I know her…that's the child Bard brought with him yesterday, she was in the boat, I saw her!" another one exclaimed, almost losing his balance as he was pointing in her direction as if she was standing meters away from him.

"She's no child, she's a dwarf. A dwarf-woman" a third one rolled his eyes. "Didn't you see her with the others?"

"Aye, a pretty dwarf-woman" the first man smirked at her in a way that made her want to throw up. She tried to free herself from his grip but he caught her wrist, this time more violently. "No, don't leave us, we can have fun together, pretty thing"

"Let me go" she gritted between her teeth.

"Come on, love. It's not as if you weren't used to this, if you do it with dwarves, you can do it with men, we are not so different"

She froze at this. "What did you say?" she whispered. They were too drunk to take note of her icy tone and just laughed.

"Don't be shy, we aren't stupid, we know why a whole group of dwarves would want such a pretty thing as you to accompany them" the first man said in a tone of confidence.

"You keep them warm at night, don't you?" the third one smirked while the second one was even too drunk to say anything and instead just sat there smiling like an idiot.

Luna had already grabbed a dagger from her belt was she raised her arm to hit the man who was still holding her when someone else suddenly caught her arm to stop her move. Snapping her head around, she found Bard who shot her a warning glance before turning towards the three men.

"Ah, Bard, you want a taste of the lady as well, don't you?" the first one exclaimed but before he could even finish his sentence, the bowman had a blade pressed against his throat.

"Let her go" he muttered and so did the man, too frightened and drunk to answer the threat otherwise.

"Do as much as set your eyes on me again, filth, and I will rip you apart" Luna spat before Bard pulled her away.

He lead her through the crowd and out of the town hall where the coolness of the night made her shiver but at least, she was happy to be finally out of that room.

"Where you seriously planning on killing him like that in the middle of the party?" Bard eyed her warily.

"He basically called me a whore"

"I know. But that wouldn't have made things easier for you king, would it?"

She shrugged her shoulders. At that moment, she hadn't really cared about Thorin, another proof that she was definitely not suited for the role of captain. She should always think of her king's interests first.

"Why would you come and help me anyway?" she asked.

"I may not like what you plan to do but who would I be to leave you at the mercy of those three drunkards?"

"I don't need protection"

"No, but you need to be stopped from causing diplomatic catastrophes and regarding your job, I hope that kind of things don't happen too often"

"What are you talking about?"

"Please, can I stop pretending I don't know who you are now? I overhead the others referring to you as their captain even before I found out I had smuggled the company of Thorin Oakenshield into Laketown." he rolled his eyes. "Plus one doesn't need to be a fine detective to notice how you almost constantly keep an eye on him and the two young ones. You know…your fiancé and his brother" he added with a little wink.

"He's not my fiancé, can I stop pretending you believed that story?" it was her time to roll her eyes and she mimicked his voice when he had asked the same kind of question a few seconds earlier.

"I had never heard that Thorin Oakenshield had sons" he said pensively.

"He doesn't, they are his nephews"

Bard thoughtfully nodded. "And where are they now?"

"Kili's in bed, he did not want to go to the party, and Fili might still be in there, so is Thorin. If I were a good captain, I'd be with them as well"

"I doubt they risk much tonight. I actually think that you'd be more in danger if you went back inside than they are. Plus why stay at a party that you seem to hate so much?"

"I could ask you the same question"

"I was simply curious to see how many barrels of ale the master had kept hidden for himself all those years" Bard replied, shooting a dark look in the direction of the town hall. "Well then, I'm going home, my children wait for me. I am proud to say that they are the three most reasonable people I know in this town"

She nodded, she hadn't been here long but she already had a feeling that he was right.

"You should go too, nothing good will come from there" he added before turning his heels.

"Bard, wait" she called and he turned towards her again, shooting her a questioning glance. "Unfortunately I doubt the others will think of doing it as well but thank you for your help, in the name of the whole company…and thanks for tonight"

He vaguely waved her thanks away and walked off.

"They can't see it now but the people of Laketown need you" she said before he was too far to hear her. This time, he didn't turn around but just stopped walking. "Please be there for them then, because if you're not…no one will" she added and he finally looked behind his shoulder but she was already gone.