Oin showed Heth and Beorn the way to Naya's room. Heth laid her down on the bed and watched while Oin checked her over. "She is exhausted. I shouldn't have let her work so hard, but we were all so busy." Naya's face was white and pale. She lay on the bed without moving.

"I doubt you could have stopped her," her father said. "When someone is in distress, she will do what she wants, even if it harms her." He reached out and brushed the hair away from her face. "Is there another woman who can undress her, or shall I do it?" Naya's clothes were smeared with dirt and blood from the day's events.

"I will find Willa, her friend. She has helped her before." Oin remembered Naya's condition in Lake-town and knew that Beorn was right. There would have been no stopping her. "I will do the same for Thorin and bring him here. They would want to be together."

An hour or so later, Thorin was brought on a makeshift stretcher to Naya's side. He actually looked better than she did, thought Beorn. His color was good and his wound nicely bandaged. They put him on the bed next to Naya. Dwalin had helped to carry his friend and king. "On behalf of the king, I want to express my gratitude for all your assistance today. I don't know how we could have won without it," said Dwalin.

Dwalin did not think he would ever forget the sight on the battlefield. He had heard Bilbo's and other voices crying "The eagles are coming, the eagles are coming!" When he had turned and looked, he saw the great birds swooping in close to the ground. Each one bore a large man on his back. As they neared the ground, the passengers leaped off. Upon landing, each transformed into a large, ferocious bear that immediately fell upon any orc within paws' reach. There had been no withstanding such an onslaught.

"Gwaihir told us of the gathering of the orcs and that Naya was at the center of the storm. For too long, I have let her down. I was not going to do it another time. Her brothers joined me. I think they have finally come to appreciate their little sister at last. I just wish we had made it a few minutes earlier. Then this wouldn't have happened." He gestured at both Thorin and Naya.

"Thorin and Azog were enemies of longstanding. There was no avoiding it. At some point, one of them was fated to kill the other. Happily for us, Thorin won," Dwalin proudly said. "Do you know if anyone found Azog's head? I should love to put it on a pike for Thorin when he wakes up. Also, the hobbit is asking for his sword. He left it in the head of the black Warg. Look for that, too."

"I will return and look for them. I know about where the heads should be. Let me know if there is anything else you need. We will stay for a few days until Valinaya is better. It could take her a long time to recover after all she did." He bent almost double to make it back out of the door.

...

No matter how hard she tried, no matter what she did, they all died. Thorin, Fili, Kili. Over and over, she put the Arkenstone on them and used all her skills and they still died. After awhile, she stopped trying. Her mind drifted to the forest on her walls. It was so peaceful there. Perhaps she should do as she had told Thorin, she would and go live there, away from having to deal with her failure. She faced the wall of trees and walked inside.

...

Two days after the battle, Thorin was able to get up and move around. He was stiff and sore, but Oin assured him he was almost healed. He went to visit Fili and Kili. They were not as fortunate. Fili could sit up in a chair, but Kili was still bedridden. Kili's face had at least resumed its normal size. Fili had delighted in calling him Moon Face for an entire day. Both had been assured that they would make a full recovery, if they followed Oin's instructions. Given the ferocity of the battle, the other dwarves had suffered relatively little damage. Cuts and bruises that would heal and a few good head rattles. They had been very, very lucky.

As Thorin walked the halls, so many folk stopped him to ask about Naya and to let her know how much they appreciated her help, that he could make very little progress. When he returned to their rooms, he sat on the bed and took her hand. "You wouldn't believe the number of people who are asking about you, my love. It's hard to believe one person could have done so much." He leaned forward to kiss her. "You really need to wake up, so you can talk to them yourself." He looked for any sign of a response. As usual, there was none. She had not moved a muscle or an eyelid since Beorn had put her on the bed two days ago.

Oin came in. "Any change?"

"None," muttered Thorin. "What's wrong, Oin? This isn't just exhaustion. The other times there was always something. She asked for things, she moved, her eyes opened. Now, it's nothing. I'm worried."

Oin had tried to avoid this conversation. "I don't know, Thorin. This is beyond my experience. She shows no injuries, no wounds, no illness. I am as baffled as you are."

"Do you think Gandalf or (he almost bit his tongue off) any of the elves can help?"

"Gandalf would be the place to start. We can consult with the elves if he can't do anything." Oin was relieved to have someone else to share the burden with. "I will go now and find him."

"Thank you, Oin. I know you have done your best." He turned back to Naya and picked up her hand again.

...

An hour later, Gandalf arrived. He had been relaxing for once, knowing that his labors soon would begin anew. "What can I do for you, King Thorin? Oin said you needed my advice," he said jovially.

"Don't call me that. I don't feel like a king, and I know you're teasing." His worries made him cranky. "It's Naya. Look at her. She should be coming out of this trance, or whatever it is. It has been two days. No matter how tired, there should be something, don't you think?"

Gandalf moved to the bed. "You know I am not a healer, Thorin, what would you have me do?"

"Before the battle, Naya made a joke, or so I thought, of going to live in the forest in her walls if anything happened to me. I've been thinking that maybe she's done just that. Some of her brothers said she kept crying over and over that she 'had tried so hard.' Maybe she doesn't know how many people she saved. That she saved me," he finished quietly.

"Ah, not a bad theory, Thorin, and that I may be able to help you with." He leaned over the figure in the bed and placed his hand over her forehead and eyes. Closing his own eyes, he murmured some soft words and then concentrated.

He found himself surrounded by trees, a forest. He looked around but saw no one. On the ground at his feet, he saw footprints.

Gandalf's eyes opened. "I think you may be right, Thorin. It appears she is in some wooded area. I will go back and try to find her. Hold her hand and start calling her name as soon as I start. Don't stop until I tell you to. Here, try holding this, too." He gave him the Arkenstone from where it lay beside Naya.

Once again, he covered her eyes with his hand.

He followed the footprints. They wound through the trees deeper and deeper into the forest. She had wandered aimlessly, he thought, with no plan. At last, he came to a clearing around a towering waterfall. Naya sat hunched over near the edge of a pool, a rough stone lying in her lap. "Valinaya Beorning, what in Middle-earth do you think you are doing?"

Her head lifted slowly. "Nothing. No matter how hard I try, I can do nothing, save nothing. Just leave me alone. I can't hurt anyone here." She dropped her head to look at the stone. Something was carved on its surface.

"Thorin doesn't think that, neither do Fili, Kili or the hundreds of others you helped the other day. They want to talk to you, but you make it very hard when you hide like this."

"They're dead. Don't think you can play one of your tricks on me. You don't lie, but you don't tell the truth either."

Gandalf laughed. "It didn't take you long to figure me out, did it, Valinaya? But this time, I promise I am not lying or playing tricks. Thorin lives. Can't you hear him calling? Listen!"

Reluctantly, Naya lifted her head once more. Very faintly, she thought she heard something. It might be Thorin….but he was dead, wasn't he? A very faint hope rekindled in her heart.

Gandalf sensed the change. "It really is him. He is quite distraught at your condition, especially since he is fully recovered. Why don't you come with me?"

"I-I don't think I can find my way. I tried once or twice, but I keep ending up back here."

"I will help you. Follow me. If I get too far ahead, just follow the voice." Without waiting to see if she followed, Gandalf turned and walked away.

Naya dropped the stone and scrambled to her feet. "Wait, Gandalf, don't go too fast!" He was almost out of sight already. Dashing through the trees, she kept him in sight for only a few minutes, and then he was gone. She stopped. Follow the voice, he had said. She listened. It was a little louder. She walked in the direction she had last seen the wizard heading. "naya, naya, naya, valinaya" came to her faintly, but distinctly.

"Thorin?" she started running as fast as the dense growth would allow. "Thorin! I'm coming!"

...

Thorin's voice was starting to get scratchy, he had called so long. Suddenly, Gandalf pulled his hand away from Naya's eyes. "Keep calling, don't stop now," he warned.

"Valinaya, Naya, please, Valinaya," Thorin chanted over and over.

The figure on the bed opened its eyes. "Thorin? Is it really you?" Naya turned to look at the speaker.

Thorin stopped chanting. "Well, look who is back. What did you think you were doing? I've been waiting for two days!" He reached out and touched her softly. "Don't you ever think you didn't try hard enough, Valinaya. You saved me, just like you said you would." He picked her up off the bed and kissed her.

Her eyes focused on him. "I thought you were dead! I was so tired, I couldn't heal you. Fili and Kili…."

"You might not have been able to do a perfect job, but you did enough. We are all alive because of you."

She smiled at his words. "Everyone?"

"Everyone you touched that day is still alive. Fili and Kili are the only ones not fully healed and they are well on the way to recovery. There's no need to disappear into the forest. Ever! You scared me, you know. The mighty Thorin Oakenshield, scared by a little thing like you." He hugged her tightly. He didn't want to let her go for a minute, now that she was back.

"I'm sorry. I think I was just so exhausted, my brain got confused. I really shouldn't have left before I was sure. But, you have to admit, you all looked more than half dead."

"Half dead is not dead, especially when we have the skilled healer Valinaya at our beck and call."

"Hmphh," she snorted. "Beck and call? I think not. Don't think you can go out and risk your necks just because I am around to put you back together. Those days are over. I need to think about myself from now on." She pulled back from him. "And Azog?"

"Hopefully by now, his head is on a pike at the Front Gate, just as you requested. In any case, he and his spawn Bolg are dead and gone along with many of their underlings. We will not need to worry as much about orcs for quite some time.

"The company? Bard? Tell me everything, Thorin." Now that she was awake, she wanted to hear all the details.

"First things first. You my dear, have been lying around for four days. I think you could use a bath." He winked at her.

"Are you offering to be my handmaiden, Thorin?"

"Who else?"

During this interchange, they had failed to notice that Gandalf still remained in the room. As the conversation became more personal, he quietly slipped out of the room, smiling.