Chapter Thirty-Six

"Bilbo…that…I really don't know about this." I said, quietly. We'd moved into a random room off to the side to get away from anyone that could be listening. "It just feels like…we're betraying them." Bilbo's 'grand' idea turned out to be giving the Arkenstone to Bard. Obviously, I was now feeling less than comfortable about the whole idea. "Aside from the fact that there's barely a chance that we can actually get the stone to Bard, what do you think Thorin is going to say when he finds out what we did? God, what are the others going to say?!"

Bilbo ran a hand down his face as he took a deep breath. "I know, I know. But what else is there to do? Nothing we say is getting through to him, this is the only way I can think of, Amaya!" He exclaimed. It was clear the stress of the entire situation was getting to him, and I have to say, I felt exactly the same.

"No, I understand that, Bilbo. I just…if Fili were to ever find out that I was apart of all of this, I don't know whether he would forgive me. I don't think that I can risk that, Bilbo."

"Amaya, I wouldn't be telling you this if it wasn't important. But what do you think is going to happen if we don't do anything? We can't let them go to war." I squeezed my eyes shut at Bilbo's words. He was right; doing this could potentially stop a war, a war which we would definitely loose. I may have been miles better with a sword than I had been at the beginning of this journey, but I was no where near the level of the Dwarves. And there was only thirteen of them for God's sake! An entire army was outside.

"Bilbo…I…I agree with you. You know I do. But…"

"Amaya, all I am asking is for you to make sure that no one knows that I have gone while I am down with Bard. And anyway, if any of them find out, I will take the blame. I mean it." he insisted at my furrowed eyebrows. "I am the one that has dragged you into this. I took the Arkenstone and I am asking you not to say anything. I know this isn't easy on you. But you must trust me. I…I think this will work."

I sighed. This honestly seemed like the only way. But I didn't even want to think of what Thorin's reaction was going to be when he found out. He was bad enough when he couldn't even find it. When he found out that Bilbo had taken it and given it to those he now considered enemies, and that I knew, there was no way we would be welcome in the Mountain again. But what other way was there? What else would give Thorin the incentive he needed?

"…Okay. I will try. But…how are you actually going to get out of here?" I asked, my stomach now full of nerves.

"Bombur is on watch first tonight. I…I am planning to offer to take over his watch. I will be able to climb over the wall, offer the stone to Bard and be back here by the time it is turn for the next watcher. All I need for you to do is make sure that nobody knows that I am gone.

"Okay." I replied. "But you better pray that this works." What the hell have I got myself into?

-8-

I could barely look Fili in the eye once we'd rejoined the Dwarves. Once he'd seen me come back (honestly, I think he thought I'd been planning to run off or something after Thorin's words), he'd given me a gentle smile and pulled me to his side, obviously trying to give me reassurance that he had paid no attention to what Thorin had said. I was incredibly thankful for his support, although it was making me feel more and more guilty for what Bilbo and I were planning.

"Are you okay, miz sanâzyung?" he asked, pulling me to the side.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I replied, raising my hand to rest against his cheek. I'm not sure why at that moment I was feeling so affectionate. Maybe it was due to the fact that if me and Bilbo were found out, I wouldn't be this close to Fili in Lord only knows how long. "Like I said, I just needed time to think." Subconsciously twisting my hand around the braid I had made in his hair, I glanced around to see that everybody else was making there way to somewhere. "Where is everybody going?" I asked.

"Down to the armory." Replied Fili, lowly. "Thorin has…he has said that everybody must be equipped with armour."

I let out a shaky breath at Fili's words. "This cannot end in war, Fee. We…we wouldn't win. I can't…I can't loose you."

"Amaya." he said, sternly. "Listen. I swear to Mahal, whatever happens, nothing will happen to you. I am going to keep you safe, whatever it takes."

"Fili, I don't care about that. I can't live without you. I can't let this end in war." I paused for a moment. I could trust Fili. He saw what was wrong in Thorin's behaviour. He would understand…I could tell him. "Fili, listen…I need to tell you something…"

"Fili, Blondie!" shouted Kili from across the room, interrupting what I was going to say. "Are you coming?"

"You can tell me later, okay?" asked Fili, already leading me towards where his brother was waiting. Sighing to myself, I nodded. I had no idea when I would find the time to tell him now. But would I have actually told him just then? God, my mind was every kind of confused.

The armory itself was pretty impressive, even I had to admit. As Fili went off with his brother to go and find himself some armour (the thought still gave me uncomfortable shivers), I slid down the side of a nearby column. Looking around at a load of weapons didn't strike me as interesting at this particular moment in time. In fact, it would have just scared me. From the corner of my eye, I saw Bilbo make his way over to me, no doubt to go over what he was to do tonight. However, just as Bilbo was a few metres away, Thorin stepped in his way, obviously completely oblivious to my presence there.

"Master Baggins!" he said, actually sounding somewhat normal as he spoke. "You are going to need this. Put it on." Glancing around the column, I saw Bilbo eye what looked like a thin, silver vest. No doubt about it, it was pretty beautiful. "This vest is made of silver steel, Mithril, it was called by my forebears. No blade can pierce it."

"I look absurd!" replied the Hobbit, once he had put the vest on, making me bite back a snort. "I'm not a warrior, I'm a Hobbit!"

"It is a gift." Said Thorin. "A token of our friendship. True friends are hard to come by." He then lowered his voice so I had to strain to listen. "I have been blind. Now I begin to see. I am betrayed." My eyes widened at Thorin's words. Did he know?

"Betrayed?" repeated Bilbo, and I could hear the worry in his voice.

"The Arkenstone. One of them has taken it. One of them is false."

"Thorin…the quest is fulfilled. You've won the Mountain. Is that not enough?" Please say yes, please say yes…

"Betrayed by my own kin." Continued Thorin. Damn.

"No, eh…you… you made a promise…to the people of Lake-Town, like Amaya said. Is…is this treasure truly worth more than your honour? Our honour, Thorin. I was also there, I gave my word."

"For that I am grateful. It was nobly done. But the treasure in this mountain does not belong to the people of Lake-Town! This gold…is ours…and ours alone. By my life, I will not part with a single coin. Not…one…piece of it!" I shivered at the low tone of Thorin's voice as he spoke, what he said reminding me of what Smaug had said. In fact, those sounded like the exact words that Smaug had said…

"I find it very ironic that he would say all that to you, of all people." I joked when Bilbo had finally come over. Well, I say 'joked'. It was more of a statement with an awkward chuckle on the end. "Looking good, Baggins. That's a good look on you."

"No doubt I will be thankful to have this in the end. Although I do not deserve it." he replied, giving Thorin (who was now across the room) a saddened look. I knew of the new friendship that had sprung up between the two, and I had barely stopped to consider how this must be affecting Bilbo.

"You are doing what you think is right, Bilbo. As am I. And although this doesn't seem like the best way to do it, I think that it truly is the only way."

Bilbo nodded thoughtfully, and just as he was about to reply, I heard Fili call my name. "Amaya! Come here for a second. Please?" I smiled at the 'please' on the end as I said a quick bye to Bilbo. He obviously remembered what I had told him about the women in my world; we did not like being ordered around.

"What is it?" I asked, finally standing next to him. He had been about as far away from me as he could have got.

"You need something to protect yourself with. I told you I would keep you safe, and I will, but…if worst comes to worst…" And by that, he obviously meant, 'if I am not alive to keep you safe', "then I want to know that you have something to defend yourself with." Nodding at his words, I looked around at where we were standing. "There is not exactly a lot of choice with armour that can fit you." he continued. "But I have managed to find some. But it is not much, at least not as much as I would like…"

"It will be enough." I said, placing a hand on his arm in assurance.

-8-

In the end, I'd come away with a little bit of armour and a couple of small swords which Fili had said I was best with and insisted I needed to take. I couldn't lay down that night to get to sleep. I needed to keep a watch out for Bilbo anyway, and despite that, I don't think I could have slept anyway. Instead, I leant my head against the wall as I sat, content to just sit by Fili's side as he lay down.

"Are you not going to sleep?" he asked, frowning slightly. "You should rest while you can."

I smiled softly at him. "I'll be fine. I'm just not tired yet, is all. My mind feels all over the place." Well, at least that wasn't a lie.

"Would you like to talk about it? I can stay up if you want."

I should tell him…I should tell him…I should tell him… "No, it's fine, Fee. You get some sleep. I'll rest when I feel tired."

"Okay." He smiled, making my stomach twist with guilt. "Rest well."

Not even resisting the urge to smile as he lay his head in my lap, I proceeded to run my hands through his hair as he went to sleep, constantly glancing around the room as the rest of the company joined him.

It took little under an hour until I could be absolutely sure that the company were all asleep, and as I saw Bilbo carefully stand up from where he was lying, I could feel my heart beat a little harder in my chest. This was it, the moment of no return. God, Fili was going to hate me…but if it avoided a war…

Bilbo gave me a nod as he tiptoed by, although the scared-shitless look on his face was not hard to miss. Hopefully he lost it by the time he saw Bombur. And now all I could do was sit and wait, praying that the Dwarves didn't wake up, and hoping that this plan was actually going to work.

-8-

A/N: Okay, so I know that this is not the longest chapter in the world, but my exams have started and I am super stressed with everything that is going on at sixth form, so obviously updates are not going to be very frequent. But, in celebration of me finally having completed my extended project (which let me tell you, took so much work I pretty much lost motivation in everything else), I thought that I would post this in celebration.

I'm trying to get the point across that Amaya really does not want to get involved with the whole Arkenstone business, but at this point, she feels that she has no choice in the matter and that it's the only thing that will stop the Dwarves from going to war.

Anyway, thank you for everyone who has followed and reviewed throughout the story, and until next time!