Everything belongs to JRRTolkien, except the OC and odd parts of the plot.


The wind was whipping my face, howling in my ears in a long, ominous cry. My eyes were shut tight and my whole body was numb. My heart was beating at an insane rate, and I darkly hoped I would die of a heart attack and end it all before I met the ground. There was no way that I would be able to survive this. How long still? How long before I died?

Tears were barely forming on the corner of my eyes before they were swept away by the wind.

I was falling.

For an instant that seemed to last an eternity, I had the utter certainty that the short inhale I took was actually my last breath.

In that moment, I would have expected to have my life flash in front of my eyes. It was how it was supposed to happen, or so I thought. Instead of seeing memories, I saw nothing. There wasn't any tearful remembrance. There wasn't any particular feeling. Just the fear. I only felt that unaltered and crippling fear which came with the certainty that there wouldn't be any tomorrow. There was only this terrible sensation of falling, and this time I knew it was for real and not a trick of my brain before I fell asleep.

That was it.

Then I collided with something. Hard.

I bounced off the object at first, but then instinct kicked in.

My hands instinctively grabbed whatever it was that I had fell on. I didn't register any pain, but maybe it was because right now my whole brain was frozen in terror. Nothing could have loosened my grip on the weird, soft, feathery material I was holding onto. My heart was still racing. I could barely breathe. It registered in some part of my brain that I was in a state of shock.

Frozen in terror it took me awhile before I actually started to analyze what my body was feeling.

I could still feel the cold wind against my face, but it didn't come from the same direction.

It took me awhile, but after several very long minutes, I managed to blink and, still clutching tightly onto whatever it was I had landed on, I looked around. I whimpered at first when I realized that I was still very high in the sky. I shut my eyes tightly, hoping that this was nothing but a stupid nightmare. I would really love for Nori to come and wake me up right then.

As I started to pray Mahal to let me live through this, I finally heard voices. The sounds were odd, partially muffled by the howling of the wind in my ears, but if I concentrated hard enough, I could make out words, or rather names, and discern voices.

"Uncle!" Kili kept shouting.

"Thorin! Thorin!" Fili's heart wrenching call was echoed by several other dwarves.

Those shouts did nothing to appease my fears. I had no idea where the dwarves were. I couldn't find it in myself to move an inch, and as far as I could see at the right side of the giant bird I was currently on, there was no one. I was shivering, from the cold or the fear, I didn't know. As I closed my eyes again, concentrating on the voices I could hear, I finally caught something that forced my hand.

"Amelia!" Nori's broken shout tore my heart apart and filled me with hope at the same time.

I knew he was alive. He didn't have the same chance. For his sake, I would have to move. I would have to talk.

As I heard his broken voice once more, I took a slow, long inhale and tightened my grip on the bird's feather. His voice was now being echoed by Dori's. I bit my lower lip. I knew that Ori was probably getting scared too. Ever so slowly, I managed to sit. Nori wasn't shouting anymore. Dori was completely silent too. All the dwarves were actually silent. Now that I was actually trying to think about it, I hadn't heard Thorin's voice. Fili and Kili had sounded quite scared. Could it be…? No. Thorin couldn't be dead. It wouldn't make sense. It wasn't possible. This dwarf was far too stubborn and scary to die so stupidly because of a few orcs.

Thinking of our leader distracted my brain from its fears and I managed to sit on the bird's broad back. Now that I was actually looking at my unexpected mount, I could see that it was even larger than I had thought. If I stayed more or less on this exact spot, and if the bird flew straight, I probably wouldn't fall. That was reassuring.

The silence coming from the dwarves wasn't.

I looked around.

The sun was rising in the horizon. The sky was ablaze. Hadn't I been currently sitting on a giant bird, the view would have taken my breath away. I couldn't see anything except for the endless sky. That actually worried me a bit. I hadn't heard the dwarves for several minutes and I couldn't see them. Suddenly I felt anxious. I bit my lower lip. Could I have been hallucinating? There was only one way to find out. I would have to move and look under that stupid bird.

Gathering all courage I could muster, I crawled towards the bird's head. Instead of staying on my knees though, I decided to lie flat on my stomach. This would provide me with more stability. I took a deep breath before I glanced down.

The first thing I noticed was the height.

It actually made my head spin.

I clenched my fist in the bird's feather and whimpered again. I was quite sure that it was only a matter of second before I started to hyperventilate when my eyes caught sight of other giant birds. On each of them I could see dwarves. My heart hammered against my ribs. With the strength of the wind, I had tears in my eyes and my vision was greatly diminished. I couldn't really see who was where. Still, I had heard their voices, so, taking a large gulp of air, I shouted to make myself heard.

"Nori! Dori! Ori!"

Immediately I saw several figures move frantically, or well, as frantically as they could on the back of some birds. They seemed to look around.

"Guys!" I shouted once more.

This time, they were all moving and, hadn't we been in such a predicament, I would have rolled my eyes.

"Up! I'm up there!" I shouted once again before letting out a scream as my bird squawked loudly.

"Amelia!" I heard several shouts.

"Amelia, don't move!" Another dwarf ordered me, and I was all too happy to obey.

I would never move or speak again for as long as I was on this bird's back.

It was around that time that I spotted some sort of tall mount in the distance. The landscape was covered by forests and grassy plains, and in the middle of it all, there was this huge rocky mountain. Further away, the horizon line was made of huge, grey mountains. I blinked several times and admitted reluctantly that this was a sight to behold. The sky was turning orange and pink and a few clouds where turning this picture into a breathtaking sight. Then the bird I was on started to descend much too fast to my taste and I suddenly couldn't care less about the landscape. The animal flew directly in the direction of that first rocky mountain I had seen. When it started to hover before finally landing, I didn't hesitate to let go of my hold on its feather and slid to the ground. I would not be ashamed to admit I fell to my knees and rested my forehead against the cool rock for a minute.

I was so grateful to be on the ground again. I couldn't explain how relieved I felt. Maybe the bird would come back later to eat me, but right then I didn't care. I was back on the solid rock and hopefully there wouldn't be any orc or goblin nearby. I let out a choked sob in relief. I could hear my heart beat loudly in my ears. I could feel my hands shake slightly as I pressed my palms on the rock, welcoming the stinging pain from my cuts as a good sign. Feeling pain meant I was alive, and right now, being alive was something great.

I was forced to look up though when I heard the unmistakable sound of wings flapping close to me. I winced and turned as quickly as I could. The idea of being dragged back up in the sky was terrifying me. I couldn't possibly go back up without a very good reason, and I couldn't imagine any reason that could potentially be good enough. I realized only then, that I was near a large flat stone. I shakily stood up, using the stone as a support for my shaky legs. Wincing at every move I could make, I bit my lower lip and tried to focus on something else than the pain that lanced through my body.

The sight I was met with once I stood, made me forget my own weaknesses and pain.

A huge bird arrived and hovered for an instant. I could see now that it was an eagle. The old man jumped down and strode to the way opposite mine. Just behind this large eagle, I could see several others and that sight had me stop for a good minute. They were magnificent. I had to admit it. As terrifying as this whole flight had been, I wasn't going to deny the majesty of those creatures. The early morning sun seemed to cover them in a bright halo. Their brown feathers looked almost golden under its morning rays.

I was shocked by this unexpected sight.

During a short moment, the eagles didn't look so fearsome anymore.

They all flew in our direction until one by one, they all let the dwarves come down from their backs.

As soon as I saw the first dwarf, I started to make my way towards them. I couldn't really express how or what I felt. I was relieved, happy, exhausted, hurt, glad, afraid… I didn't know anymore. My legs were barely supporting my weight and I staggered clumsily towards the dwarves.

As I was about to fall, I fell against a strong chest.

Automatically my arms encircled the dwarf's shoulders. I didn't need to look to know that I was in Nori's arms. It felt wonderful. I could feel the braid falling in his neck as I hid my face in his beard. Neither of us spoke, and almost as soon as I ended up in his arms, I felt another pair encircle the both of us. I opened my eyes to see Ori, Dori being just behind him.

Nori shifted slightly and embraced both me and Ori, hiding his face between the two of us. At the same time Dori joined us. Ori and I ended up being sandwiched in a strong hug from Nori and Dori. It was painful to be squished this way, but I didn't care.

"I thought I lost you all."

The voice had been barely above a murmur. Hadn't we been all so close, I doubt we would have heard Nori's words. I couldn't look at him or at the others but I felt Nori's slight shivering and I realized that Ori was trembling a bit too. I strengthened my hold on them. I couldn't really tell what had happened, but it was obvious that the night had been quite scary for all of us. Nori had probably realized my absence when the trees were on fire. As for Dori and Ori, I couldn't tell what had happened to them, but obviously it had been perilous enough to shock Nori.

I wiggled a bit and managed to look at Dori.

He looked exhausted but relieved.

We all probably shared those feelings.

I saw him lightly bump his forehead against Nori's. The thief was looking down until that moment.

"Do you really think I would let my little brother all alone?" Dori softly said.

Nori let out a chocked chuckle.

The two older dwarves stepped back right then, though I could feel Nori's hand linger for a moment longer on my waist. Once they stepped away, I finally had the opportunity to look at Ori. My poor Ori looked shaken. Our gazes met and we immediately fell into each other's arms.

"Where were you?" He breathed out. "I couldn't see you on the tree, and then we fell…"

"You fell?" I gasped, jumping back to look at him.

Suddenly the image of two dark shapes falling from the tree crossed my mind and I looked at the three brothers.

"You were the ones who fell?!" I repeated with a strangled voice.

"Just before the eagles arrived." Nori softly murmured.

I turned my head to look at my thief then. I could see it all in his eyes. He had seen his brothers fall in the depth of a dark precipice. At that moment he probably thought them gone. He had no way of knowing they would be rescued by giant eagles. I could read in his eyes the terror and despair that had assaulted him then. I could see it all and it broke my heart.

"And you were nowhere to be seen." Nori added then, startling me a bit.

I glanced at the three of them. They had all realized my absence. They had all probably thought the worst had come to pass.

"I was by the trees." I simply replied in a soft tone.

There wasn't much to say about it. The last days and night had been exhausting both physically and emotionally. I couldn't deal with any drama right now. I just wanted to lie down and sleep. I sighed as I realized that. Then I looked around us.

The other dwarves were more or less in little groups but they were all looking at our leader. The old man, Gandalf, I remembered now, was kneeling beside him, his hand on Thorin's forehead.

It was only then that I realized he had been injured.

I swore and tried to go to him. I had only been allowed to come because I was a healer. It was my job to help them. I winced as my knees buckled and I would have fallen if not for Dori's strong arms. At this moment, more than ever, I hated being so weak, so human. If I wasn't useful, what right did I have to be here at all? I cursed my weak body. I hadn't been through more than the others. All the dwarves had fought and run. All of them had flown on the eagles' back. I was also pretty sure that most of them, if not all, had injuries too. Yet it seemed that I was the only one who could barely walk. Begrudgingly I had to admit that Dwalin was probably right. Humans were frail or weaker than dwarves at least. I obviously had less endurance than them.

"I need to help Thorin." I just said, grinding my teeth, annoyed by myself.

At that moment, our king startled awake.

We all walked to him. Dori was supporting most of my weight as I leant heavily on him. He helped me as we made our way to the small group that surrounded Thorin. Gandalf was smiling, looking rather obviously relieved, until our leader coughed and finally spoke.

"The hobbit, where is the hobbit?" Thorin managed to say between coughs.

"He's fine." Gandalf replied. "Bilbo is here with us all."

I had no idea why Thorin would think first about Bilbo. It seemed rather odd. Until then, he hadn't really cared much for the hobbit. After the ordeal we had been through I would have expected him to ask for his nephews instead. The dwarves made way for Thorin as Bilbo looked a bit sheepish. I tilted my head, finding it a bit odd that Bilbo would almost look relieved and slightly proud even. What had happened during the short time I had been away from the dwarves?

Looking at the faces around, I fully expected the king to be friendly with Bilbo.

Even Dwalin was looking at the hobbit with a kind smile.

Glancing around it was evident that all the dwarves seemed to see Bilbo in a new light.

So I could only be shocked, like the others were, when Thorin growled at the sight of the kind hobbit.

"You!" He snapped, startling me and half the dwarves. "Didn't I say that you weren't part of this company? Didn't I say you were useless and that you should never have come? Didn't I make it clear you didn't belong with us?"

I was looking at the scene unfold wide eyed. The dwarves were just as shocked. Yet, or maybe because of our surprise, none of us intervened. I was trying to form sentences in my head to defend Bilbo when Thorin surprised me yet again.

"I have never been more wrong in my life." He breathed out before embracing a shell shocked Bilbo.

Kili let out a chuckle and in an instant most dwarves were cheering happily, clapping Bilbo's back and embracing him.

"What in Mahal's name happened when we were separated?" I breathed out, glancing at Dori.

He was about to reply when Thorin's voice rose once again.

"You!" I looked at him and realized he was pointing at me. "Where were you?"

All the dwarves, Bilbo and even Gandalf stared at me right then.

"You were just behind me and then you disappeared." Fili said with a frown. "What happened?"

"I'm curious about that too." Balin said, stepping closer and looking at me with concern.

Oddly, I suddenly felt my cheeks burn as I blushed. What had happened to me was so stupid that I felt slightly ashamed to tell them all. As they were obviously planning to wait until I replied, I sighed and looked up at the sky.

"I didn't manage to jump, so I ended up under the fallen trees." I kept it short.

I didn't want to say that I had been too hurt and weak to keep on jumping. I really didn't want to say that I had been so scared that I couldn't find it in myself to keep on moving. Most of all, I wouldn't say how I blacked out for a moment and almost managed to get myself caught under burning trees.

"You were in the fire?" Bofur breathed out, clearly shocked.

I glanced around. Most of the dwarves seemed horrified, and Bilbo wasn't fairing any better. Oin probably hadn't heard, so he looked impassive, just like Dwalin though I wasn't sure why he was the only one who didn't react much. Nori's eyes were wide and riveted on me. Ori's mouth was hanging open. Fili and Kili both looked at each other uncertainly. Bifur wasn't paying attention, or at least he wasn't reacting, and both Bombur and Bofur had paled. But it wasn't them that I looked at. Gloin, Dori, Balin and Thorin were frowning and exchanging glances with each others.

Gandalf coughed loudly then and distracted everyone as he spoke to us.

"We should probably keep going." He simply said.

Meanwhile I was busy trying to avoid looking at any of the dwarves. It was more or less at that moment that I first looked at the landscape and the place we were on.

Silently praying for my legs to stay strong, I walked away from Dori's strong support. It was quite an amazing view we had from this huge rock we were on. Forests and mountains encircled us. As I looked at the horizon, ignoring the dwarves behind me, I saw a tall mountain slowly appearing from behind a veil of clouds. It stood high and mighty, its top still half hidden by those clouds.

I blinked.

I wouldn't be able to explain how or why, but seeing that mountain suddenly made me feel…something.

I frowned. It was strange that I couldn't put a name on this feeling. My heart started to pound strongly in my chest. The simple sight of that one mountain made my skin break out in gooseflesh as a shiver ran up my spine.

"Is that…" I heard Bilbo say nearby.

"Erebor…" Thorin breathed out.

Only then did I realize that the dwarves had walked close to this edge too. Still, I couldn't take my eyes away from the mountain. The Lonely Mountain. The name was appropriate. Erebor stood there, in front of us, and suddenly I really wanted to be there. It struck me unexpectedly, but at that moment I truly wanted to be in Erebor. I wanted to see the mighty mountain from its foot. I wanted to see its tall slopes. I wanted to step under its shadow. I wanted to walk the mighty Halls it sheltered. I didn't want it for the dwarves' sake. I wanted it. I, Amelia, the lost human, wanted it.

The intensity of those feelings took my breath away.

I hadn't expected that.

Was it possible that the simple sight of Erebor would make me feel this way, or was it the exhaustion that was meddling with my brain?

I couldn't tell, but I did feel tired.

We all stayed there for awhile longer before Gandalf broke us all from our daze. Then Thorin ordered us to gather and keep going. His voice sounded slightly off though. It seemed that the sight of his old home made our leader a bit emotional. I wouldn't hold it against him. Even though I had never been there, it was hard even for me to tear my gaze away from the Lonely Mountain.

"How do we get down that thing?" Gloin gruffly asked as we gathered at the centre.

"Will the eagle bring us down?" Kili wondered, looking all excited.

For my part, I honestly hoped they wouldn't. I was grateful for their help, but I wasn't about to ask for a repeat.

"We'll take the stairs, of course." Gandalf replied, striding to the other edge.

"Stairs? Who would carve stairs here?" Dori frowned.

As he asked his question, we had all followed Gandalf and were now looking at something that I wouldn't have called stairs.

"Someone very tall, obviously." Fili replied.

That was a way to put it. From where we were, it did look like stairs, but it seemed that they had been made for giants. Each step was probably as high as I was tall. The stairs seemed to go down, winding around the mount, and were directly carved in the rock.

"Let's go. We don't have much time left." Thorin pressed us and he was the first one to jump after Gandalf.

I thought for a moment that I saw him wince but he kept going. Dwalin wasn't far behind him and was quickly followed by Oin and Gloin. I looked at the stairs and wondered how I would ever be able to go down. Asking for help would be like screaming around that I was injured. But on the other hand, I was injured and I just knew that if I were to jump from one step to the next, I wouldn't go far before I would collapse to the ground in pain. I could only take shallow breaths as my ribs were hurting painfully. My hands were burning and most part of my body seemed to throb. All in all it was a wonder that I was still standing. I had no choice but to keep going though. I took a deep breath, or I tried at least, and stepped toward the edge only to be stopped by a hand on my shoulder.

"I'll go first." Dori simply said before he jumped down the step.

There, instead of going to the next one, he turned to face me and extended his arms in my direction.

"It'll be easier if you sit on the edge." Nori commented, holding my waist.

I bit my lower lip in shame and felt myself blush. I couldn't hide my weaknesses apparently. I could have been stubborn right then. I could probably have tried to jump on my own. I knew a stronger person would have ignored their help. Well, I wasn't strong and hurting what little pride I had left wasn't going to compare to the physical pain I would feel if I didn't accept their help. Listening to Nori's advice I sat and jumped directly into Dori's arms. It hurt as well, but probably much less than it would have, hadn't he been there.

Behind me, Nori and Ori jumped down, quickly followed by Bifur, Bofur and finally poor Bombur who wasn't happy with this situation.

For each step after that one, we repeated the same actions. Before long I was tired of it all. The sun was continuing its course in the sky and I wondered whether we would ever arrive to the ground. I tried my best to ignore the precipice and I kept my gaze on the steps. I had fallen enough in the past days. I didn't want a repeat.

Our descent was painfully slow. To my utter shame, I was slowing down everyone, or at least it was how I felt. The way down seemed never ending. The stairs remained just as high during the whole time. It was probably late in the afternoon when we finally jumped down the last step.

I was glad to finally arrive to ground level. I didn't want to have to climb anything for awhile.

I wasn't about to complain though. As Dori let me to the ground for the last time, I sighed loudly and couldn't help but sag a bit against him. He let me of course and brought a protective arm around my shoulders. During our way down I had had a lot of time to think. The past few days had been quite full in emotions.

But most of all they had exposed how easily we could lose some of us. I knew that I wouldn't have to try very hard to remember the two dark figures falling from a tree. I couldn't help but shiver at the thought. There was also the fact that we were being followed and tracked down like rabbits by some orcs. We could all fall during a battle just like we could as easily die stupidly. The little adventure in the mountain with the stone giants could have cost us the lives of half the company. This journey was no regular mission, I knew that already, but the past days had made sure I couldn't ignore it at all.

The vulnerability I had seen in Nori up the mount wasn't anything to be ashamed of. I actually could relate to his feelings and I was sure Dori and Ori too. They had thought they had lost their brothers. Nori probably thought at some point he had lost me too. And the sad truth was that we could actually very easily lose someone to this quest. If no one died before the end, we would be very lucky. I could see that now. It was one thing to know it logically. It was another thing altogether to experience the fear first hand.

My thoughts were rather forlorn when Thorin spoke.

"We'll look for some place to camp"

I looked at him and realized that his face was unusually pale. He looked almost grey. A quick glance around told me that not many dwarves were faring much better.

"Will it be safe?" Gloin asked tiredly.

"The eagles have brought us further than I thought they would." Gandalf spoke next. "We should be safe from the orcs for a few days."

"We should use this time to keep going and not lose this advantage." Thorin groaned while Dwalin and Gloin nodded.

"No." Oin intervened. "Too many of us are injured. We need to rest for one night at least."

No one would contradict the main healer's words, but I could tell that Thorin wasn't too happy about it. Looking around though, it was obvious he wouldn't have much choice. I was pretty sure that even our leader was just hours away from fainting. He couldn't be feeling any better than any of us. Actually, from his look I could tell that he was probably feeling worse than many.

"We have to try and find water." Balin commented then. "And food."

"Aye." Thorin agreed tiredly. "Kili."

He didn't need to say anything more. Almost immediately the young dwarf took his bow and an arrow in hand. Fili grabbed a few throwing knives, even though his uncle hadn't asked him too. The two younger dwarves were clearly appointed as hunters while we would make our way to wherever it was that Gandalf was leading us. We all started to walk and I could only grimace at the pain I was feeling at each step.

As the day grew older, the pain in my lower stomach made itself known again.

By the time Thorin decided to stop, I was simply miserable.

I wanted to let myself fall to the ground on the spot. Still, I couldn't. Thorin gave orders and several dwarves disappeared in the trees' shadows, looking for firewood and food.

I took a minute to look around.

We were in a small clearing and, if my ears weren't tricking me, there was running water nearby. It had to be real, because it made sense for Thorin to stop here if a river was close enough for us to use its water.

Dori squeezed my arm lightly and offered me a kind smile before he left to help the others.

I didn't pay too much attention to them actually. My gaze was riveted on Thorin. I saw him wince as he used a tree to slowly sit down. He was leaning back against the same tree's trunk, his eyes closed, when I decided to finally make myself useful.

Slowly and half limping, I made my way to where he was. On my way, I realized that Oin wasn't here, he had followed Gloin in the woods. Gandalf was sitting a bit further away, alone. Thorin opened one eye and groaned when I painfully knelt near him.

"What do you want?"

I was too tired to care about politeness and other similar details.

"What do you think?" I sighed as I shakily started to open my leather tunic, not entirely, but just enough to gain access to my satchel and then untie the leather cord that held it to my body.

Thorin glared at me.

"Go away. Let me rest."

"Could you please remove your coat and tunic so that I could check your injuries?" I replied evenly.

"I don't need your help. Go rest somewhere else." He grunted darkly.

I really was too tired for this. I placed the satchel in front of me and sighed loudly before finally looking at him. My gaze met his and he quirked an eyebrow at me. Enough was enough. I snapped.

"Thorin, you may be our leader, but I am in charge of the company's members' health." I wasn't afraid of his glare right then. "So if I tell you to strip so that I can see your wounds, you do it." I glanced around and saw that several dwarves were looking at us. "If you want to, we can do this here or in a more private setting. But I won't let you have the choice."

"What are you going to do if I refuse?" Thorin snorted derisively.

I painfully clenched my fist. I had no patience. I was hurt. I was exhausted. I wanted to curl in a ball and weep because of the pain and fright I still felt. I honestly didn't want to deal with the dwarves' stubbornness right now. It really wasn't surprising that I didn't hesitate to glower at Thorin.

I looked around once more before I scowled at our leader.

"Bifur, Nori, Dwalin. I need your help here." I spat loudly enough to get the dwarves' attention.

They surprisingly all came. Maybe it wasn't that surprising considering the tone I was using though.

"What is it?" Dwalin grunted when they were all around me.

"I need you three to hold him down while I strip him or Mahal help me, I'm going to have to drug him to sleep and we'll lose time."

I said it all matter-of-factly. My tone was surprisingly cold and I meant each word I had pronounced. It probably was the reason why the four dwarves stared at me with stupefied wide eyes.

"Er…Amelia?" Nori tried to intervene softly.

"If I don't check him and treat his injuries what do you think might happen? Hm? Is any of you qualified to answer? No. Because I am the healer here. I know what I am doing. I listen to you when it comes to everything else. So you are going to listen to me when it concerns your health otherwise I swear you won't like the outcome." I ranted. "I'm tired. I want to rest but I won't until I have checked all your injuries. This isn't negotiable. So you have one choice to make right now. Either you make my life easier and you do what I say, or you don't." I took a deep breath and met Thorin's stare evenly. "So which one is it?"

For a long minute he didn't say anything. Neither of them spoke actually.

Then silently, and slowly, Thorin started to undo the laces that were closing his heavy coat. I nodded at him with a very small smile. Then I glanced at the three dumbfounded warriors that were staring at their leader as if he had grown a second head. I cleared my throat, catching their attention.

"What I just said included all the dwarves of the company." They stared at me blankly as I spoke calmly. "Once I'm done with Thorin, I'd very much appreciate not to have to fight with the rest of the company so, tell the others and be prepared."

"Aye, bastûna." Bifur said with a court nod before he left.

I glanced at Nori who wore a strange expression. I couldn't really describe it, but it made me blush slightly. He was smirking a bit, his eyes shining as he looked at me.

"Aye, aye, bastûna." He said, winking at me.

Then he just left without adding another word. Dwalin simply nodded at me and followed him. I was left alone with Thorin who had opened his coat and tunic and was now struggling to remove them. Ignoring the pain in my own limbs, I helped him without giving any comment. There was nothing to say anyway. He was hurt. He needed help. I was a healer. It was my duty to him and the company. I would do my best to accomplish this duty.

Once I had also helped him remove his under tunic, his chest was left bare for me to check. I ticked at the sight of his wounds. His ribs were bruised and there were several puncture wounds that slowly bled. I gingerly prodded the area around those bruises, carefully checking his ribs to make sure none were broken. He accepted my touch silently.

From what I could tell, no ribs were actually broken. Once this was done, I looked more closely at his wounds. It looked almost as if he had been bitten. I frowned and looked up, at his face.

"What happened?" I wondered.

"Warg."

Well, that explained it. I grimaced at the thought of those creatures. Then I turned a bit and saw several unoccupied dwarves who were sitting not too far away. I was surprised to see that Oin and Gloin were back. I hadn't heard them. They had already started a fire and Oin was walking my way.

"I'll need water. Boiled water. Please." I said to no one in particular.

Oin nodded and stopped midway, turning back towards the others he started giving orders to the dwarves who, surprisingly, obeyed wordlessly. Quickly Oin then joined me and sat on Thorin's other side.

"We'll need to make sure those don't become infected." I said while I opened my satchel.

"How come you still have this?" Oin asked, pointing at my equipment. "I lost everything in those damn tunnels."

"She had it strapped under her tunic." Thorin grumbled, not even bothering to open his eyes.

I didn't pay much attention to either of them. Instead I was busy selecting plants to prepare some ointment I would later put on Thorin's wounds. Placing the small pouches near me, I then took out the thin needles I would use to stitch the biggest wounds.

I didn't even look up when someone placed a wooden bowl next to me. I was just about to put the needle and string in the boiling hot water when I startled slightly. Leaning forward I properly looked at the bowl. It was a very basic one. There was no decoration or anything on it. It seemed…unfinished. I had never seen the dwarves use anything like this.

"Where did you find that?" I finally asked, even though it probably wasn't really the right time to ask such questions.

It was Bofur who replied and I realized he was sitting nearby, a piece of wood on his knees and an impressive pile of wood chips around his legs.

"Just made it." He smiled at me before starting to work on the piece of wood.

I blinked.

Then I felt a small incredulous smile tug on my lips. These dwarves probably never would cease to amaze or surprise me in one way or another. As I glanced around, I realized that Bifur, Nori and several others were all busy carving pieces of woods into tools we would need.

My smile grew until Oin caught my attention.

"What's so interesting?" He grumbled at me as he reviewed the pouches I had placed aside.

I shrugged.

"Nothing much." I hissed as I washed my hands in the hot water, blinking back tears at the pain shooting from my palms and then placed the needle and string in the bowl before I leant closer to Thorin. "I'll stitch those ones." I said, pointing at the biggest wounds. "The others don't need any. You have a few bruised ribs too. It'll be good if you could rest a bit and avoid moving too much around."

Thorin opened his eyes and stared at me.

"Rest?" He grunted.

"Just sayin'." I shrugged and winced at the stupid move that painfully reminded me of my own injuries. "I guess I'll just have to bind them tightly." I sighed.

He didn't reply and simply closed his eyes back. Nori brought a second bowl filled with water and I placed some thyme in it. I grimaced as the only clean cloth I had wasn't really clean at all. We would have to make do with what we had. I ignored the pain in my own chest as I leant even closer and started to work on his wound, washing them with the cloth and water. Meanwhile Oin was already starting to prepare the poultice of snapdragon, houseleek and witch hazel we would later apply on Thorin's wounds. Hopefully it will help prevent any infection and would reduce any swelling that might occur. Without pausing, I let the cloth fall back in the now tinged water and took the needle and string. It was rather quick work to stitch back the wounds, even though my hands were shaking slightly due to the pain in my palms and my tiredness.

When I finished with the last stitch, Oin handed me the bowl containing the warm poultice and I could only marvel at the quick work the dwarves made. I could already count four of those wooden bowls. It was impressive how fast they carved them.

Thorin hadn't moved or opened his eyes at all when I started to put some poultice on each wound. I wasn't worried though as his chest kept rising in a slow rhythm with his breathing. I finished quickly and bound his chest with what little bandages I had. It wasn't nearly enough, and I didn't have any left once this was done.

I was having trouble keeping my eyes open, and I wanted nothing more than to examine my own chest, but the whole company needed to be tended to. I tried my best not to let my tiredness show on my face, but I wasn't doing a good job. Oin obviously saw it as he stood and helped me back to my feet.

I saw he was about to speak and I managed to cut in before he could.

"Alright, let's take care of the others."

"Amelia." He said with a warning tone.

"Let's take care of the others." I repeated stubbornly.

He sighed and nodded. He helped me to go next to the fire and then helped me down.

"Alright lads." He grumbled loud enough to catch everyone's attention. "Each one of you will come here and let us know where you're injured." He sat near me then.

It took some time, but after a while all injuries had been tended to. The dwarves had been rather lucky. The worst wounds were only scratches and cuts that needed very little work. There were a lot of bruises, but they would heal on their own. We were extremely lucky that there hadn't been any broken bones or worst wounds. I cleaned the scratches, stitched the bigger wounds, put ointment on the bruises and poultice on the bigger cuts but that was it. Once the last dwarf, Dwalin, stood back up I couldn't help but sigh loudly.

"What about you lass?" The warrior asked as he laced his tunic back.

Glancing around, I realized that most of the dwarves were paying extra attention to that conversation. I rubbed my forehead tiredly and grimaced at the sight of my palms. Sighing, I thought a bit before I replied.

"I'll be fine. Is the river close by?"

Dwalin nodded but his gaze didn't leave me.

I had to stand and it wasn't difficult to guess I probably wouldn't be able to on my own. I felt my cheeks heat when I looked at Dwalin. He was standing there, one hand extended in my direction. Blushing in shame I took it. I prepared myself to be hauled up quickly. I could only be surprised when Dwalin very gently leant forward and placed his arm around my back and very slowly brought me up to my feet.

"Thanks." I said softly and he only nodded.

I staggered a bit and went in the direction of Dori, Nori and Ori. They were sitting nearby, Nori was busy carving wood. Dori and Ori seemed to be using water and sand to polish it once it was carved. They all stopped when I came closer and looked at me. I offered them all a tired smile.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Ori asked in a small voice.

"I'll be fine." I replied, trying to placate his worries. "I'll just leave some of my stuff here while I go to the river."

Dori nodded while Nori's gaze didn't leave me. I tried to remove my leather tunic only to realize that my fingers were shaking too much for me to unknot the small leather binds. I saw that Nori stood up but before he could get closer, Dori was up too and placed a hand on his chest glaring at him.

"I'll help you Amelia." Dori said darkly and I looked at them incredulously.

"What's going on?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Nothing Amelia. Come here dear." Balin intervened. "If you want to get rid of that blood, you'll have to wet your coat." He added as he started to help with the blood coated laces.

I nodded drowsily and didn't pay any more attention to Dori and Nori. I was honestly not in a state to think about their fights. I was starting to think that the two brothers might just be like this all the time and that Nori's activities had not much to do with it. I grimaced and winced when Balin stepped in my back and helped me remove my coat. The simple gesture sent tendrils of pain in my shoulders and painfully stretched my ribcage. Once the long coat was removed though, I heard a gasp.

I was about to groan annoyingly.

If any dwarf was about to talk to me about propriety I would shout. Under the long leather coat, I was wearing a sleeveless leather corset that only reached past my hips and the long sleeved grey woollen tunic that reached just above my knees. I wasn't wearing anything that wasn't perfectly proper.

"Amelia! You're injured!" Ori cried in anguish.

"Mahal, he's right!" Kili exclaimed pointing at me.

I didn't understand.

Then I looked down, trying to find why they would think that.

In a second I let out an embarrassed squeak and let myself fall down to my knees quickly, ignoring completely any pain I felt. To be honest, my silly reaction was mostly due to my tiredness. I wasn't thinking straight anymore. Instead of staying calm and explaining things to those idiotic dwarves, I bent and ended up hiding my face behind my bloodied hands.

I could hear all the dwarves gathering around me and I groaned. I could feel tears prickle the corner of my eyes.

Those idiots were all trying to get me to stand again and I pushed each hand angrily.

"Go away!" I croaked, blushing terribly.

I had only needed a glimpse at my clothes to understand what was going on. My tunic was tainted with blood, and I knew that I wasn't injured. This blood could only come from one place and I really didn't feel like explaining to a bunch of dwarves, plus a man and a hobbit, that I had spent the last days going through my periods without anything to really clean myself or at the very least absorb the blood.

"Stop it all of you!"

I was honestly surprised to hear Gloin shout out loud. I was even more shocked to hear Thorin growl from his spot on the ground.

"Everyone just stop it."

Everyone looked at him. I glanced at our leader from behind my fingers. I was too exhausted right now and my emotions were going haywire, I couldn't control them anymore. Instead of just feeling slightly ashamed or embarrassed, I was just about to start crying. Meanwhile, Thorin was shouting orders.

"Fili, Kili, Dwalin, go check if you can find some more game around here. Oin, get a second fire started once the others have gathered more wood. We don't need to hide for now, and the warmth will be welcome. Nori, Bifur, I want the both of you to scout the area. Make sure we are safe here. Bombur, go with mister Baggins to try and find some more food. Bofur, go with them. All the others, just go gather wood."

"But Amelia…" Ori started before Gloin cut in.

"Just go gather wood Ori."

I could tell that some of the dwarves were hesitant to obey, but after one last groan from Thorin, they all scattered in the woods. I was left in the clearing with Thorin, Gloin and Gandalf who was smoking his pipe, sitting on a large rock and seemingly not paying attention to me.

"Amelia." Gloin called as he crouched near me.

To my utter shame, I sniffed right then and couldn't get a word to pass my lips.

"It's alright lass. Don't be ashamed."

As Gloin spoke he kindly took one of my beads between his fingers. I didn't need to look to know it was my kinship bead. I glanced at him but he was already standing. Wordlessly, the ginger warrior shrugged his heavy leather coat off and draped it around my shoulders.

"Go to the river Amelia. I'll make sure to shut the others when they come back." Gloin kindly said before he helped me stand. "Are you going to be alright? I know Danà sometimes suffers when this happen."

"As did Dís when she was younger…" Thorin groaned then before slowly standing up. "I remember that she placed something warm on her stomach to help with the pain. She liked to eat some fennel too."

I looked up then. I was still blushing terribly as my brain finally started to work. Of course, Gloin was married, he would know about those things. Thorin was as well Dís' brother. He had to take care of her when they were younger, or so I could guess. The two of them were used to be around women. They wouldn't make a fuss, which was exactly why I felt grateful right then. Silently I nodded at Gloin and managed to offer him a small smile before I scurried away in the direction of the river.

I was glad to be away from all those males right then.

The river wasn't too far, but still far enough that I wouldn't have to worry about privacy. Walking a bit closer to the riverbank, I saw that a bit further away there were bushes that came down to the river. They would provide a natural curtain that would hide me completely if I could get behind them. Thankfully, there were no thorns to push away and I easily pushed the branches out of my way. A few minutes later, I was safely hidden in between the bushes and could access the water without problem.

Wincing at the pain I felt, I let Gloin's coat fall to the ground and started to remove my corset. Ever so slowly I stripped. It took me much longer than usual. When I stood in just my bindings, I could see that blood stained my clothes. But instead of worrying about that, I gingerly touched my ribs. I had to check the damage.

Removing my bindings was possibly one of the most painful things I did in a while. My hands were shaking and the pain from the cuts on my palm was making me clumsy as the ache throbbed up my arms. As there was no blood on the long cloth I used as bindings, I could tell that I hadn't suffered from any cuts. But broken bones would be much more problematic than a simple flesh wound.

I felt a few tears roll down my cheeks as I gasped.

Finally the bindings fell to the ground.

I grimaced at the sight of my own chest.

A large bruise covered my left side and several smaller ones covered my breasts and my right side. I could see that the darkening bruises came up to my right breast bone. I couldn't help but let out small cries of pain when I forced myself to probe my ribs. They were clearly bruised but I was almost certain that none were broken. That was a small relief, but relief nonetheless.

I would have to make an ointment to try and soothe the pain.

For now though, I wanted nothing more than to step in the water. The coldness hit me as soon as I let my feet in. I dreamt of a hot bath but instead chose to let the cold clean the pain and blood away. Slowly I immersed myself. The cold made me shiver but I clenched my teeth. Once the water reached my chest I hissed and then sighed. The cold water was actually making me feel a bit better.

I grabbed my stained clothes while I was still in the water and washed them as best as I could. The water was tinted with blood and dirt. Soon enough, I threw my clothes on the riverbank, in the sun, hoping they would dry as much as possible quickly enough for me to wear them.

My palms were burning and I feared the injuries were infected. Flexing my fingers a bit I winced. At this point I could only hope that I would regain the full use of my hands. I let the cold water run on the wounds, washing them, clearing away the dirt that had accumulated there. As I could better see it, I grimaced yet again. Those cuts weren't clean ones. The rock had dug into my flesh quite messily. I wondered whether or not I should ask Oin to stitch them.

Without wasting any more time, I slowly removed the braid that bound my hair together. I kept the smaller ones bound as I immersed myself completely under the water. I hoped the water would wash the soot and dirt as much as possible.

I had no idea how long I stayed in the water, or how long I remained lying in the sun afterwards, hiding between the bushes. But when I finally decided that I had to stand, I groaned loudly at the pain in my sore muscles. I tried to tie my bindings around my chest, but I just couldn't. Sighing, I gave up and simply put my linen tunic and the long woollen one. Both were still damp, but there was nothing I could do about it. I placed some clean cloth in my panties, hoping it would absorb the blood I was still losing and grimaced. In times like these I could only miss terribly my previous world.

The sun wasn't so warm anymore when I stepped back in the camp, my corset, bindings, and Gloin's leather coat in my arms. I ignored the dwarves and walked to the warrior and gave his coat back to him.

"Are you alright?" He asked me kindly.

"Yes." I replied honestly.

The cold water and then the warm sun had helped me tremendously. Of course I was far from feeling perfectly healthy, but I was feeling a bit better, refreshed. There was yet another rather embarrassing matter I needed to take care of though. Instead of waiting, I chose to deal with it right then. Walking to the second fire where several dwarves were gathered, I went to talk with Oin. The three brothers all stood as I stepped closer. I ignored them.

"Oin," I said looking directly at the old healer. "I need your help."

"What's going on?" Dori immediately reacted.

Blushing slightly I looked at the oldest brother and tried to placate his worries.

"Nothing. I'm fine." This wasn't going to help much. "I just need a little help to put some ointment on."

"I can help you." Dori immediately jumped to his feet and I felt my blush darken.

"Dori, I really appreciate it, but…" I hesitated.

I didn't want to offend Dori. I could tell already that Ori was worried as well and by the look he was sending my way, Nori suspected something was wrong. I sighed loudly while Oin calmly stood next to me.

"But I'd rather have a healer's help." I finished my sentence.

"Amelia…" Ori started before Oin interrupted him.

"Oh, shush the lot of you." He then grabbed my elbow cautiously. "Follow me Amelia, let's go somewhere more private."

I nodded and we both made our way a bit further away, into the woods. We didn't go far at all, stopping just behind some lush bushes that would protect us from curious eyes, though I was once more absolutely certain that my friends wouldn't try to peak at me.

"Now." Oin sat on the ground and gestured for me to imitate him. "What do you need my help with?"

I groaned as I sat.

"I'll need some ointment to help against the bruises." I said at first. "And I'll need some help to bind my chest again. I can't move freely and…" I blushed a bit. "And I thought that a healer would be the most appropriate person to ask for help."

Oin simply nodded before giving me a warm smile.

"And don't forget we're kin. Now, show me these bruises."

I grimaced as I had to remove my tunic yet again. I heard Oin mutter something when he saw the dark colouring on my skin.

"What happened to you?" He asked before standing again. "I'll go grab the fresh batch of ointment I just made earlier."

I closed my eyes for a moment while he was gone. I heard him shush the worried dwarves before he came back. Wordlessly he sat next to me again and started to put the ointment on the bruises. I hissed in pain when he pressed his hands a bit too strongly against my ribs.

"Are you sure none are broken?" He simply asked with a frown.

"It doesn't seem like there is." I replied tiredly.

Oin didn't comment. Once those bruises were taken care of, he stood back up and sat behind me.

"Your back is bruised too." He simply mumbled, generously applying the ointment on my lower back and my right shoulder.

Once this was done, he bound my chest tightly. The thought crossed my mind that the women who wore corsets knew how I felt right then. I closed my eyes when I felt a sharp pain as Oin bound the cloth more tightly than I usually did.

"It'll be uncomfortable but I advise you keep your chest tightly bound for awhile. I'm not sure you don't have anything broken."

"I'll be fine." I sighed.

"I don't doubt that." He replied with a shrug. "Now, show me those hands you're trying to hide."

I blushed a bit and turned my palms up so he could see them. He swore in Khuzdul and gingerly took one of my hands in his.

"They will undoubtedly scar." He commented and I nodded, already knowing this. "I don't think we need to stitch them, but I'll put some poultice on it and bind them both tightly. I advise you to wear gloves for the next days to protect the bandages."

I sighed and nodded.

"If they're not healing properly in a few days, we'll be obliged to stitch them." He added, looking closely at the wounds.

"I know." I admitted. "I just hope we won't have to."

Even though he tried to be careful, it still hurt when he placed the poultice and then the bandages. It didn't take long though, and soon enough Oin was patting my knee kindly.

"Alright, let's go back before all those idiots start to imagine the worst." He offered me one of his rare smiles right then.

I snorted and winced immediately after, bringing one hand to my side.

"You know that no matter what, they will." I panted slightly and Oin patted my shoulder lightly.

"Come, we all need rest tonight."

"Let's just hope that Fili and Kili found some meat. I'd love to eat one of Bombur's stew."

When we stepped back in our camp, all the dwarves were back. To my pleasant surprise, Bombur was currently skinning rabbits. When I saw that, I felt I could have kissed the two youngest brothers.

Even though we were safe right then, the camp that evening was rather quiet. Every one of us had been hurt or injured in one way or another. Every one of us was tired, exhausted even.

Though, despite all the pain and hardships, I would have to admit one thing…the simple sight of Erebor seemed to have made it worth all the trouble.


A/N: And that's it for another chapter. Huge thanks to all the people who always leave a little (or a long) review. Thanks as well to the new followers and favourites. It's always useful to know what you all think of the story, what you expect and what you didn't...what you liked and what you didn't. I feel like I can't thank you all enough. I'm really moved by the reviews who compliment my writing skills and the story line, it means a lot to me. Thanks soooooo much everyone. It makes me want to try even harder.

By the way did you realize it's been over a year now? Wow, I hadn't paid attention to that...

Anyway, I have a few specific things to say today.

First, a guest (PercyJ) left a review asking me whether or not I would mind to see this story translated into French. Really, I wouldn't mind at all. :) That actually surprised me though, because this story is huge. If you really want to try and do it, please contact me via PM so we can discuss it a bit before.

Second, another guest asked whether or not we had reached the scene of the prologue. That scene was actually the one with the trolls.

Third, I'm currently looking for someone who would like to beta a few chapters for me. Right now it'll only be for several chapters (five at the present time). It's mostly to get a honest opinion on the plot and the description of certain scenes I'm not entirely happy with. (though of course if I made mistakes in English, I'd be happy to have those betaed) please contact me if you're interested.

Fourth and last point, I put on another poll on my profile. It concerns the result of the BoFA. Once again, this is just a mean for me to test the waters, so to speak, but if a huge majority makes itself known, I might be enclined to go one way instead of the other.

Khuzdul: bastûna means "healing lady"

And that's it for today. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I apologize for the gruesome details and ugly topics of wounds and stuff. Next chapter will hopefully come in a couple of weeks. See you then!