Chapter Thirty-Eight: Pretty Packages

Emelia allowed the dwarves a three minute head start, approximately, before she started gathering her things to follow after them. She thought it was a little ridiculous that Thorin actually expected her to stay put. It wasn't as if she had anywhere else to be besides with them and she wasn't about to let them think that they could actually get away with leaving her.

She searched around the room looking for her clothing from Tauriel before she finally settled on throwing on a couple of layers over her nightdress. She grabbed three of the shirts and coats Bard had left for the dwarves and shoved them over her head roughly. She chose to ignore how they made her look like a homeless person, knowing that there were more important things to think about than her vanity. Like what insults she was going to hurl at the dwarves when she got the chance, for instance. She shoved her feet into her boots angrily, with thoughts of Thorin's face in mind when she told him off, again, before she moved towards the door. She grabbed a scarf from the small set of hooks by the door and wrapped it around her head, covering up her bright red hair with a purpose in mind. Her hair would stand out in the dark night and she wanted nothing more than to surprise the dwarves in more ways than one.

It had become very clear to her that they thought her horribly incapable. She could think of no other reason why they would want to leave her there. Thorin's excuse of wanting to keep her safe was a total steaming pile of crap, as far as she was concerned. He had never expressed any sort of worry for her before this very moment so she was hesitant to believe that he would suddenly change his mind. He was the type of stubborn that took years to perfect and even longer to change. He didn't want her to burden them and he had wrapped that reasoning up in a pretty package in order to make her feel slightly better about being left behind.

It hadn't worked, which is why Emelia was currently stomping around Bard's small home like an irate baby elephant.

"You can't leave as well."

Emelia had completely forgotten about Bain. She looked back at him, hand already poised to open the door, and glared at him with all the gusto she could muster.

"Yes, of course I can." Emelia snapped, pulling her layers around her tighter.

"You can't. Da said…"

"I will punch you, Bain. You might be a child but I will punch you square in the face if you try and stop me." He didn't seem intimidated by her current appearance, but didn't say anything when he saw the look on her face. "Wonderful. I guess I'll see you when I see you."

She hurried out of the home before he could argue any more. She felt bad for a brief moment for her hasty, and admittedly ungrateful departure. She didn't feel too bad for too long, however. She had a bone to pick with the dwarves and the only way she could do that was by following them and letting them know just exactly what kind of jerks they were.

That and she desperately wanted to see Erebor.

She looked around her for a moment, taking in her surroundings before she did anything else. Lake-town was ominously quiet at night and infinitely creepy. The water churned beneath the houses and walkways, bubbling in some places and standing still in others, all the while smelling like feces and decaying fish. Emelia wrapped her head scarf around her mouth and nose to avoid breathing in too much of the smell and hopped down Bard's steps as quietly as possible. She figured that should be her first step, considering she was at a loss for what the others should be. She didn't exactly know where she dwarves were going, besides Erebor obviously. There was far too many walkways and paths for her to see a clear path to where they might have gone, leaving her with no other choice but to take an uneducated guess.

She closed her eyes and swung her hand around, pointing wildly for a moment. It wasn't the best method, but it was about all she could think of, given her current circumstances. Besides, she didn't exactly think she could be held to logical thinking. She was too angry for that.

Or at least that was the excuse she was choosing to got with.

It only took her ten minutes of wandering around aimlessly to realize that she might have given the dwarves way too much of a head start. She hadn't seen a single sign from them, no over turned buckets, no alarmed looking citizens, no nothing. She had always had the impression that the dwarves were the marauding type. They were supposed to leave a trail behind. That's what she had been planning on using to follow them. Apparently, she had been wrong about them. She had been wrong about them a lot lately.

The main problem she had with Lake-town, among other things, was how similar everything looked. She was certain she had passed the same building three times. Possibly four. She stopped walking, looking around for some indicator as to where she was. She had tried to find the place that she had entered with Bard, but even that was eluding her. She thought, for the briefest of moments, that maybe she ought to have trusted the dwarves. Maybe she should stay behind. If she couldn't find her way around civilization, how on earth was she supposed to keep up with a fire breathing dragon?

"Halt!"

Emelia froze.

It was supposed to be deserted. She had been counting on that little fact to get her through the night and finding the dwarves. She quickly realized how stupid that was. Towns were never deserted and there was always a thug around every corner.

She had found her thug and she couldn't do anything but run away.

She took off in a full sprint, jumping over the large barrels as best she could in all of her layers. The man followed behind her, shouting for her to stop where she was, as if she was going to listen. The walkways would have been wonderful for trying to escape if she actually knew where she was going like the man behind her did. As it was, he was quickly gaining on her, his shouts becoming more and more annoyed with each obstacle she threw in front of him.

"You're out after curfew!"

Emelia almost laughed at that. She had never had a curfew in her life. He seemed serious, however, so she kept running.

She was quickly running out of places to go, which made a large amount of panic settle in her stomach for the first time. He was gaining on her, which she attributed to longer legs and more knowledge of the area.

"Are you hard of hearing, old woman?" Emelia screamed out of reflex when she felt a hand wrap itself around her shoulder and throw her to the ground. She skidded along the damp path for a moment before she came to a stop, head slamming into a particularly nasty barrel of expired fish parts. Some of them sloshed over the side and dripped onto her head, soaking through her scarf to her hair beneath.

"For the love of…"

"Remove your covering, woman." Emelia flipped over, squinting up at the guard with no small amount of annoyance. Not only had he called her old, which she was mildly miffed at, but he had seen to it that she got a head full of stinky fish gunk. "I will not ask you again."

Emelia took note of his serious tone and reached up her hands to remove her scarf.

"What is going on here?" Emelia was halfway through pulling back the fabric when the second man appeared. She was surprised and pleased to see the greasy man who had invited her to dinner with the Master of Lake-town and been a total prat to Bard standing above her, as shocking and slightly repulsive as that was to her. He seemed just as pleased to see her, although she suspected that was for different reasons. "Emelia, is that you?"

"Hi." She waved the hand that was on her head, scooting up into a sitting position against the barrel. "Alfrid, was it?"

"Indeed." He kept his eyes on her in the creepiest way possible as he moved down some steps to be on the same pathway as her. "What were you doing out and about at this time? Not causing problems are we?"

Emelia glanced around, tapping her fingers on the damp wood. "I was just out for a stroll. Lovely evening, don't you think?"

"Dressed like a vagrant in the middle of the night?"

"That look is in this season, I think."

"The Master is still expecting your visit."

Emelia was smart enough to remember that the dwarves had to sneak into Lake-town in the first place, instantly eliminating her telling the truth of why she was out so late at night. "That's why I was out. To visit the Master. Yea, that's it." She spoke too quickly and with too high a voice. He noticed and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Really?"

No.

"Yes." Emelia hauled herself into a standing position, throwing her soiled scarf aside as she went. "Bard's house was a little crowded so I decided I would go visit the Master that everyone speaks so highly of."

Flattery would get her everywhere, it seemed, judging by the way Alfrid started smiling at her.

"Follow me. There are maids in his household that will run a bath for you and provide new clothes. Poverty hardly suits you."

Emelia scrunched up her nose. Poverty hardly suited anyone.

"Or would you like to tell me the real reason you were out so late." Alfrid said, eyeing the way she hesitated to follow him.

"The Master is the real reason." Emelia said hastily, glancing around at the men who were beginning to gather around her. She had caused a scene. She realized that as she stared at all the sharp weapons the men were holding. They seemed eager to point them at her, if she should make a wrong move, so she had no other choice but to follow after Alfrid towards what she was presumed was the Master's house.

Emelia felt the bitterness surging through her veins as she was led through the town. Thorin, the smug bastard, was right again. She had been left to her own devices for ten minutes and the first thing she did was go and get herself arrested, for lack of a better term. She made a mental note not to tell him the next time she saw them, whenever that would be. She knew she wouldn't be able to live it down, in addition to the fact that it would make Thorin think she was even more incompetent. Not that he needed any more evidence in that department.

The Master's house smelled like stale urine and alcohol. The people who worked there didn't seem to notice, or they didn't care, and went about their tasks as if they were surrounded by the smell of flowers and new born babies. They weren't and Emelia seemed to be the only one who cared enough to be repulsed. She covered her nose with her freshly washed hand and instantly regretted it. The water smelled just as bad as the air and the soap she had used did very little to mask the odor. The food on her plate, some runny eggs and an overcooked fish, lost all its appeal as she tried not to breathe in too deeply.

"Very convenient of you to decide to come visit me just as my late night meal was being served." The Master was staring at her. "I like a bit of a snack before going to bed."

Emelia looked up, putting down her fork without taking a bite of her food. "Oh. Yea. I've always been told that I have a knack for timing."

"Are you close with Bard?" The Master asked, seeming to completely ignore what she had just said.

"What? Bard?"

"The Bargeman." The Master shoved a particularly large bite of eggs into his mouth. "Your relation."

"This is the first time we've met actually. I am related to his deceased wife. I had nowhere else to go and Bard was the only person I could think of after my parents died." Emelia was surprised at how easy it was to lie to him. "He was just as surprised to see me, I guess."

"So you will be staying? We do not attract a large amount of new citizens."

Emelia wasn't sure how to answer that. She supposed that she was, now that the dwarves were completely out of the range of her being able to follow them. She didn't think that Bard would be too willing to let her bunk with them long term, however. She didn't have any money and it wasn't like she could afford a place to stay.

"Apparently, yes." Where she would be staying was an entirely different question that she didn't want to think too much about.

"Then perhaps you would be willing to do a favor for me, in return for our hospitality. Bard is..."

"Sir, there's been a break in in the armory." Emelia was saved from finding out what that favor was by an armed guard bursting through the door. "Dwarves, it seems."

Dwarves. Her dwarves.

She stood up without thinking. She should have known to check the armory. They didn't have any weapons to speak of and weren't likely to storm a mountain with a dragon without any. The foolishness of not realizing that they would be there washed over her in waves. She was supposed to know them by this point in time.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." The Master stood up and threw down his napkin. Emelia hadn't been aware he used napkins. All she could see when she looked at him was food stains and spots where he had obviously dribbled alcohol. "Blast this cold."

Emelia followed after him quickly. It wasn't as if she interested in eating her food anyway. She could hear the sounds of people gathering just outside the Master's home and wondered how she hadn't noticed it before. Perhaps she had been too caught up in how putrid everything smelled. Or maybe she was just so upset at being caught yet again doing something stupid. The ladies who had drawn her bath hadn't bothered to give her a coat to wear over her dress so she was forced to use her own arms for warmth as she followed the Master outside.

There was a mob forming surrounding a group of conspicuously shorter men, all of whom looked very bitter about being caught. Thorin looked the most upset followed by Dwalin and, oddly enough, Kili. Although, in Kili's case it was hard to tell under the sickly shade of green of his skin. He was being supported by Fili and Ori, although he was using his hands to try and push them off. It wasn't working and he looked worse than ever when he stood up straight. There were dark circles under his eyes and his skin was glistening with sweat. All in all, he did not look well, causing Emelia to walk towards them without bothering to check back to see if the Master was still paying attention to her or not.

She was careful to slip to the side to avoid making a scene. She was lucky that everyone was too busy focusing on Thorin and the Master. The dwarves didn't even notice her.

"Kili." Emelia siddled up next to him, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Emelia what the…"

"I was just having a chat with the Master." She shushed him before he could draw attention to them. Fili and Ori seemed just as surprised to see her. She felt a slight amount of happiness at being able to surprise them, at least.

"Why were you conversing with," Kili peered up at the Master, lip curling in slightly disgust when he got a good look at him. "That?"

"He invited me." Emelia bent down to look at his leg. The bandage was hardly doing anything to keep the blood from seeping out. The blood was accompanied by an oozy black substance. "Kili, this looks terrible."

"It is nothing to worry about, Emelia." He hauled her back up so that she was level with him. "Why were you with him? We left you alone not three hours ago."

"Three hours? No way." Emelia did not think that it had been three hours. It barely felt like one, maybe. "God, time passes weird here."

"Emmy, we told you to stay with Bard's family."

"And you thought that would work?" Emelia scoffed, attempting to lean back down to check his leg. "What's the black stuff? It smells terrible."

Kili glowered at her. Fili seemed to agree with Emelia, as did Ori, considering how they both nodded their heads. The people around them were beginning to focus on their conversation rather than what was happening with Thorin and the Master, causing Emelia to consider saving it for another place. Kili thought so too. He grabbed her and pulled her through the crowd without saying a word. Fili and Ori watched them go, neither of them looking concerned. In fact, they both looked amused, which irked Emelia for some reason.

"Kili, what the hell?" Kili did not look at her until he was certain they were far enough to not be overheard. He stopped next to a small building and leaned heavily against it, breathing through his mouth and nose deeply. She stood in front of him, concerning flowing through her. He was getting paler and his hands were starting to shake. "I'm serious. You need to seek medical attention. Like, real medical attention, not just throwing a bandage on it and calling it a day."

"Emelia, we told you to stay."

"Do not ignore me."

"Why did you follow us?"

Emelia opened her mouth like a fish before closing it again, thinking of a way to explain it away. She couldn't think of anything. "How did you know?"

"I'm not daft. I knew it was a long shot that you would actually listen to us." He swallowed thickly, placing his hands on his head like he had a headache. She thought she might have been the cause of that, so she instantly changed her tactics. "You got caught the same as us and now your pretending it was your plan the whole time."

"I," Emelia looked away from him, focusing on the crowd of people a hundred feet from them. They seemed to get excited about something, although Emelia could hardly imagine what that would be. "I did not."

"Liar. I know you better than that."

"If I'm a liar then you're a liar." Emelia said simply, eyes flashing down to his leg.

"This isn't the time for word games." Kili bent over at the middle, dropping his head into his hands. "You can't go with us when we leave."

"Technically speaking, I didn't this time." Emelia did not like the way he was leaning against the building like it was the only thing that was keeping him vertical. "Kili, you're starting to scare me."

"Can you please stop saying that? I feel well, I promise." Kili looked up at her through bloodshot eyes.

"If this about not wanting Thorin to know, I swear that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"It has nothing to do with that." Kili looked away from her, suddenly finding the building behind her infinitely more fascinating.

"I know you better than that as well. You're sick." Emelia reached her hand forward to grab onto his shoulder. "You're right though, I was following you."

"I knew it!"

"Alright, alright. Look, it was a chicken shit move to leave me behind and you know it."

"Did you just say chicken shit?" He turned his attention back to her, a smirk finding its way to his sickly face. "You didn't really just describe a decision as being chicken shit."

"Yes, yes I did. So?"

"So, it's adorable. I don't even understand, but it's adorable." Well that turned. Emelia felt her cheeks light up like fire so quickly she thought she might pass out. She removed her hand from his shoulder and moved to stand next to him rather than in front. She couldn't bear looking at him. It was just too awkward. Her mind flashed back to the kiss they had shared and she instantly felt even more embarrassment. She could feel his gaze on her as she leaned up against the building, refusing to allow their shoulders to touch. "That's adorable too, you know."

"What?"

"Your blush."

"Oh my god, you have to stop."

"Why?" Kili bumped her shoulder, forcing her to look over at him. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

"Yes."

"Good."

"You ass." Emelia shoved him back. "I'm going with you this time, just so you know. Me and my adorable self are going with you guys all the way to the mountain and there isn't anything you can say that will stop me."

"Really? Nothing?" Kili tapped his chin, a mischievous look appearing out of nowhere. "What if I told you you look beautiful in that dress and that would it surely be damaged by a long journey?"

"It's stained and smells like fish. I don't think I'll care too much if it gets messed up."

"What if I told you that it will be horribly cold and uncomfortable?"

"I'm from Alaska."

Kili huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Fine. What if I told you…"

"Nothing. Nothing will keep me from going with you, Kee. Nothing." Emelia grabbed his arm, hoping to emphasize her point.

"When did you get so determined? I seem to recall you wanting nothing more than to go home and get away from us."

"Things change." Truthfully, Emelia still wanted to go home. She had come to terms with the reality that that wasn't likely to happen, however, and had decided the dwarves were not such an awful alternative. "People change."

"No."

"No, what? Of course they change. You changed."

"No, you're not going with us." Kili forced himself in a full upright position, albeit painfully, and positioned himself in front of her. "I'm not going to let you risk your life, not when there is an alternative."

"And what is the alternative, Kee. Me sitting here like a useless lump?"

"No. You sitting here, safe. That's the only alternative I care about." Emelia pondered for a moment, thinking of what she could say that would convince him that she should come with them. She didn't need their permission. It would be nice to have them not being passively sassy the entire time however, even if she didn't think that was very likely. "I'm begging you, Emmy. Please, stay."

"No."

"Yes." Kili mimicked her tone of voice.

"I'm not joking around anymore, Kee." Emelia placed her hands on his shoulders, hoping to convey exactly what she wanted to say. "You stay, I stay. You go, I go. It's how it works now."

"No. It isn't." Kili removed her hands from his shoulders. He leaned forward, placing his hands on either side of her head, moving into her personal space in the most uncomfortable of ways. She hadn't decided if it was a good uncomfortable or a bad uncomfortable. She was leaning towards the latter, at the moment. "Not just yet. You stay, I go."

"How about, no." Emelia tried to push his arms away from her, only to have him move even closer to her.

"You are extremely important to me. I want nothing more than for you to be safe."

"Obviously not that extremely important." Emelia couldn't help but pout a little bit. His dwarvish stubbornness was showing, much to her dismay. Of course, her stubbornness was showing as well.

"Now you're just being childish."

"Am I suddenly less adorable?" Emelia asked, peering up at him.

"No."

He leaned forward and placed his mouth over hers, effectively cutting off any response she was thinking of throwing at him. He wrapped one of his hands around the base of her neck while using his other to support his weight. Emelia couldn't help but notice that this time around the kiss was a bit different. For one thing, he initiated it, which was exciting in of itself. His hand played with the uneven strands of her hair in an almost teasing way.

"Kissing me will only make me want to come with you guys more." Emelia said against his mouth.

"Shush." He kissed her harder, pushing her back against the wall. She responded by wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him so that he was practically on top of her.

"Is this what it's always going to be from now on?" Kili immediately moved back from her, stumbling a little as he turned to look at Fili and Ori. Fili was smirking, like always, and Ori looked a little uncomfortable. Emelia could understand. This was the second time in a matter of hours that she had been caught locking lips. The mortification was endless. "Are we going to have to get used to this?"

Emelia glanced at Kili, sensing that she hadn't managed to change his mind about anything at all. She slipped under his arms and moved away from him. "No. Not just yet." Emelia shot a glare at Kili for good measure, just to make her point abundantly clear.

"Well, then, I just thought you two might want to know that the Master of Lake-town is throwing us a feast before we leave in the morning." Fili glanced between the two of them, the slightest bit of apprehension showing on his face. He seemed to understand the tension.

"Wonderful, I could use a good meal." Emelia said, walking over to join Fili and Ori. "Before we leave tomorrow."

"You're not…"

"Oh shut up, Kee." Emelia turned her attention to Ori. "I hear music starting up. Would you like to dance, Ori?"

"I don't think that this is that sort of feast."

"Ori, come dance with me." Emelia walked over to him and grabbed him around the arm, practically dragging him towards where she thought all the people would have gone. She couldn't look at Kili, not when he was completely ignoring what she was saying to him. He just didn't understand, none of them did, and she was beginning to fear that they never would.

I'm the worst. I'm so sorry for taking so long on this. I have had the worst case of writers block ever. Like monumentally bad. Anyway, I hope this makes up for the wait. I am sad to say that there are only a few more chapters until I disappear again, so I am really trying to make them as quality as possible. Ahhh, so much pressure.

I just wanted you all to know that I am very much aware that Jackson portrayed Lake-town as being much less spectacular than Tolkien. In the Hobbit, Lake-town is a thriving city that is a trading hub. I have plans for that to be sort of a past thing that will be addressed by Bard later, sort of as a way of combining to two views. I also know that Bard was captain. I am also planning on making that a in the past position that will be addressed. I hate portraying the town and Bard like this, but it is a necessary evil. Thanks Peter Jackson ;)

Also, I had a reviewer reference the scope and POV of this story. First of all, thank you, Fantasywind, for always reviewing. I truly appreciate every single one. Second of all, yes, this is limited POV and scope mostly because first and foremost, Gimli is telling this story as a fairy tale to Wenny. He is not including all the other stuff that is happening because it does not effect Emelia, who is the central character of his story. Wenny would learn what happened in the rest of Middle Earth from another source. I like to think that Gimli is trying to keep this as fantasy driven as possible for her, to make her happy. I do not think he would want to weigh down the story with an infodump about what is going on on the big scale. At least that is how I see it. But I welcome other POV about that. So thank you.

Any guesses as to what Kili and Emelia were referring to when they said "Not just yet."? ;)

Reviews make my life. Seriously. I love each and every one and they help me to improve my writing. Like if there is something you love/hate/adore/wish would change/etc. let me know! I want this to be a story that people truly enjoy!