Last time:

"Because sometimes once an individual gains your heart, they turn around and leave you," Nariel replied and walked away from her.

….

Nariel continued to lean against the railing outside even as she heard the voices speaking inside. Normally she would have gone back in, but her mind was rolling with so many emotions that she didn't know what to do with them all. But since she was out here, she took the opportunity to look over the town. Nariel watched as the people bustled to and fro, each one rushing to complete some errand or chore.

If she had to be completely honest with herself, Nariel would have to admit that this little town reminded her quite a bit of the village that Evreth had lived in. Once she realized that she'd thought of that name and that place, Nariel shook her head. She couldn't allow her past to trouble her, especially not now. Not after she'd helped the Company get so far in their journey.

At the sound of voices talking from the inside, Nariel turned her head back towards Bard's home just in time to see the Man duck out a back door. Quietly she reentered the home to see Thorin with his nephews and Balin. Their heads were bent close together as they talked in low tones. Of course Nariel could hear every word they were saying but even so she moved closer to the small group. In the time she listened to the short conversation between the four dwarves, Nariel came to wish that she hadn't. The dwarves were beginning to lose hope. Shaking her head she moved away from them to go and stand in a corner.

The she-elf watched as Bard came back with a bundle and opened it to reveal makeshift weapons. She kept her mouth shut as the dwarves began to argue with Bard about how they'd paid him for proper weapons. Nariel knew that pretty much everyone in this room, save Bard's children, had actually made do with much less than what Bard was offering them. She heard Bard mention the armory and immediately knew that the dwarves would go there. When Bard told the group that they would not be going anywhere, Nariel had stepped forward to argue until Bard mentioned the reason for why they should wait. Nodding her head slightly in agreement, her eyes started scanning the room only to land on Thorin. The dwarven lord was staring right back at her, and it took all that Nariel had to look away from him.

She hadn't lied to Sigrid when she had said that sometimes others leave you once they gain your heart. She also hadn't lied when she'd told the girl that she cared for Thorin. But it was because she cared about him that she couldn't tell him. Nariel didn't want anything to happen to him because of her. She wouldn't be able to live with herself. Eventually she goes and sits by Bilbo and talks with him. And the whole time she felt Thorin's eyes on her.

…..

As soon as darkness fell, Nariel watches as the dwarves and Bilbo start to leaving. Bard's son, Bain, tries to stop them from leaving, but the dwarves ignore him and walk out the door. Thorin paused and looked back at Nariel. He was silently asking her to come with him, but the elleth shook her head. He'd tried to convince her to come with them earlier, but she'd told him that she would be staying behind because even though it was dark, the elves that were visiting Esgaroth could see her. They'd recognize her as Elrond's daughter, so the dwarves would have a greater chance of getting to the armory without her. Thorin sighed and nodded before heading out the door.

It was not long before after the dwarves had left that Bard came running back up the steps of his home. She watched as he scanned the room for the dwarves and when he didn't find them, his eyes fell on her. Confusion lay within the depths and Nariel knew what he was thinking. Why was she still here? Why had she not gone with the dwarves? Their eye contact broke when Bain came up to his father and told him that they'd tried to stop the dwarves. Bard nodded and looked back up at Nariel.

"How long have they been gone?"

Nariel stared back at the Man but shakes her head slightly and shrugs her shoulders. She wasn't going to betray the dwarves and she could tell that Bard was not happy with this. Bard looked back down at his son for the information which Bain gave him. Bard turned to leave but froze in the doorway as faint noises of yelling reaching them. His temporary distraction gave Nariel time to slip out the door and take off towards the noise.

Within no time, Nariel reached the town square where the source of the yelling was emanating from. Carefully, she weaved her way through the crowd to get closer towards the front. When she finally reached it, she realized that she was to the left of the dwarves. She turned her attention to where everyone else was looking, to the Master and Alfrid. But her fists clenched as soon as she did so for Alfrid was calling the group of dwarves mercenaries.

"Hold your tongue! You do not know of whom you speak. This is no common criminal. This is Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror," Dwalin exclaimed, stopping Nariel from doing so, and Thorin stepped forward.

"We are the dwarves of Erebor," Thorin stated to the crowd causing them to begin whispering to each other, "We have come to reclaim our homeland. I remember this town in the great days of old. This was no forsaken town on a lake! This was the center of trade in the North! I would see those days return. I would relight the great forges of dwarves and send wealth and riches flowing once more from the halls of Erebor."

The people in the crowd start cheering and clapping. Nariel notices that the Master is looking at the dwarves as if he was calculating something.

"Death! That is what you bring us. Dragon fire and ruin. If you awaken the beast, it will destroy us all," Bard said as he strode forward through the crowd, staring at Thorin angrily. Nariel listens as a few people begin to whisper.

"They bring you a second chance. Esgaroth could again become what it once was. Don't let the possibility of misfortune hang over your head," Nariel said finally speaking up and moving forward so she stood next to Thorin.

"You can listen to this naysayer," Thorin said gesturing towards Bard,"But I promise you that if we succeed, all will share in the wealth of the mountain. Esgaroth could be built ten times over!" The people shout in excitement and they applaud. The Master looks on smiling.

"All of you, listen to me! Have you forgotten what happened to Dale?! Of those who died in the firestorm?! And for what purpose? The blind ambition of a mountain king so riven by greed, he could not see beyond his own desire!" Bard exclaimed then shared angry glares with Thorin. Nariel looked between the two and started shaking her head.

"What happened to Dale was a terrible thing. But it was not all Thror's fault. His mind was not his own. He could not have predicted what would happen," Nariel said calmly as she stared at Bard. Bard then switched his angry gaze onto her.

"How can you stand there and defend them? Defend the king that was the cause of the beast ever coming to Erebor and destroying Dale?" Bard asked and took a step back at the dark look in Nariel's eyes.

"I stand here and defend them because I can. Because it is the right thing to do. Thror was my friend. This group of dwarves are my friends. You cannot blame them for something they had nothing to do with. Some of these dwarves have never seen Erebor. They've only ever heard tales of it, and yet they came on this quest to reclaim it. Their loyalty and wish to see their people return to their home is something that I have not seen for a long time. So tell me, Bard, how can you stand there and be so quick to be against them?" Nariel said calmly, her gaze softening slightly. The crowd around her starts to get louder, but then the Master steps forth with raised hands.

"Now, now, we must not be too quick to lay blame. Let us not forget that it was Girion, Lord of Dale, your ancestor, that failed to kill the beast," the Master said pointing at Bard. When Bard looked away, Nariel turned around and faced the Master of Lake Town.

"Have you ever tried to shoot a moving dragon, Master? It is not an easy task. They can only be wounded and killed by Black Arrows, and the last time I was in Dale the store was low. Besides, did you not just tell us that we should not be too quick to lay blame?" Nariel asked crossing her arms over her chest. She did not bother listening to the very short exchange that happened between Bard and Thorin, though she could hear it, and decided to keep her gaze focused on the Master. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Thorin turn back towards the same direction she was facing in.

"I speak to the Master of the men of the Lake. Will you see the prophecy fulfilled? Will you see Esgaroth restored to its former glory? Will you share in the wealth of our people?" Thorin questioned even as the crowd began to murmur amongst themselves once again. "What say you?"

"They are not who you think they are!" a voice calls out from the back of the crowd. The dwarves, Nariel, Bilbo, and everyone else turn towards the direction of the voice only to see a group of male Mirkwood elves weaving their way through the people.

"This group of dwarves are escaped prisoners from King Thranduil's kingdom. And this elleth is the one that helped them escape. She is the daughter of Lord Elrond and was also being held by the King," another elf said as he gestured towards Nariel. Nariel ignores the murmurs of the crowd and instead looked between Thorin and the Master wondering what the dwarven lord would say.

"Is this accusation against you true?" the Master questioned. Thorin caught Nariel's gaze for a moment then nodded at her before turning back to the Master.

"Aye, it is true. We did escape from the realm of the Elvenking with Nariel's help. But that does not mean that what I have said previous is not true. I am Thorin son of Thrain and the next King under the Mountain. And my promise that you will all share in the wealth of the mountain once it has been reclaimed is also true. So I repeat my question, what say you?" Thorin inquired. The Master looks between the two groups for a moment then smiles at the dwarves and Nariel.

"I say unto you….welcome! Welcome! And thrice welcome, King Under the Mountain!" the Master greeted with his arms wide open. The crowd erupts in cheers and hug each other. The dwarves and Bilbo turn to each other and clap each other on the back. Thorin turns to Nariel and takes her hand into his. For a moment, Nariel does not respond but then she turns to Thorin. They both offer each other a smile and for a moment Nariel believes that she can one day tell Thorin how she truly feels about him.

Okay, it may not be my best work but it's been awhile since I've updated. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave me a review :3