First thing this morning we rose with the sun, packed up our little camp, and ate a hurried breakfast of bread, cheese, and some fruit that would not keep. It was bland, but good, and after drinking some water, we were all refreshed and ready to move on. I slept surprisingly well, my head pillowed from the ground upon Fili's arm, and though I was a little stiff, it was nothing of which to complain.

"I am awfully glad there is a way for us to follow," Kili commented not more than an hour after we departed. "It is is a welcome change from the trackless hiking that brought us to Erebor."

The rest of the time until our noon meal was passed in tale-telling of their great quest, and it surprised me to hear so many of the perils that befell the dwarves before they ever reached Laketown and met my humble self.

I told myself I would not ask to stop before the sun was high in the sky, and it wasn't bad, really, though I seem to be tiring so much easier than before. Why, I used to trek for hours without needing a break. But carrying a child within you takes a toll greater than I ever imagined. I am not exhausted quite, but it is a greater weight to bear, and I feel as if I indeed slow them down.

"We should stop now," Fili announced, casting a look back toward me, and apparently not liking what he saw. I lifted my chin, and smiled.

"So soon?" It was really too much cheek to be believable, I suppose. He laughed, and let his pack slide to the ground.

"Aye, indefatigable." He grinned. "I'm starving."

"So am I. I thought we should eat the dried fish."

Kili ventured a little further away, and took a look round the next bend, and came hurrying back to us.

"Sigrid," he said, beckoning to me. "Come and look. It's quite a view."

The mountain air is thin, and though I am used to it, I felt a little lightheaded. Nevertheless, I followed him, and caught my breath looking down upon the great plunging valley beneath us. It was lovely and astounding in equal measures.

"Care to descend before or after luncheon?" Kili teased, grinning. "We may reach the bottom by nightfall if we hurry. Then, a few more peaks, and we should be able to see the lake."

I nodded. "Let's eat first."

Returning to where Fili was, and pulling out the materials for our meal, we seated ourselves in a sort-of circle and ate in quiet.

"How far have we gone, do you think?" I asked at last, turning to my husband.

"Less than a fourth of the way," Fili replied, his eyes meeting mine "Why?"

I shook my head. "Have we a map?"

"All we need to do is follow the roadway. We shan't go astray, it was forged in days long before us and is sure and true."

Kili seemed eager to get on, so at Fili's consent, he shouldered his back and began the steep descent ahead of us. Fili and I packed our satchels together in silence. At last he spoke.

"I have a bad feeling about all of this," he said in a low voice. I looked up from the straps I was tightening, and furrowed my brow.

"Aye?"

"Kili is hotheaded, and rushing off to Mirkwood – enemy land – is no small decision."

"They are not my enemies," I said slowly.

"But there is little love lost between Thorin and Thranduil. Laketown may have survived on the trade from the elves, but I doubt that the woodland king cared much when it was destroyed by Smaug."

I took in my breath. "They sent aid and timber and all manner of things for the rebuilding."

"A gift does not mean goodwill."
"What does it mean then?" I was careful to keep my questioning within the bounds of respect, but I do not understand prejudice in the least. It is very stupid.

"Words are idle. Materials are cheap. Actions speak the truth," Fili grunted, heaving his pack to his back, before cursing. "Is it secured properly?" He turned so I could examine him.

"Aye, it is, but a little crooked." I shifted the satchel a bit so the weight was more evenly distributed. Fili thanked me with a kiss, bestowing upon our little one a brief caress.

"Are you alright?"

"You can stop asking that, it's getting pesky," I murmured, smiling.

"I won't, lass. I'd ask it to any of our company who were weakened. Kili, for example, while traveling with his wound."

"You are kind," I said quietly.

A shout from the rocks beneath us called our attention to the matter at hand. Travel.

"Come, let's get a move on," Fili said, handing me my staff, and pulling the hood of his cloak up to cover his head. "A chill wind is rising, and we wish to reach the valley by dark, do we not?"

Though there was a path through the trees and rocks that covered the steep slope of the mountainside, it was carpeted in fallen pine needles and made for treacherous footing. Fili went before me, and I was more grateful than I ever imagined I would be for my staff. I would plant it firmly in the soft earth, and let gravity pull me down a little ways with hurried steps until I could stop against a tree or boulder, and Fili, beneath me, did the same.

Once, I took a step too eagerly and lost my balance, sliding downwards a few feet and crashing into Fili. He caught hold of me, but slid as well until we slammed into a tree, and caught our breath.

"Are you alright?" he breathed, settling himself, and wincing at the contact his swords strapped to his back had made with his spine.

"Aye," I laughed shakily. "I should go a little slower, I suppose."
"Be careful," he warned. "Don't go sliding like that all the way to the bottom."

"Nay." I shook my head, the vision of my clumsiness all too clear in my mind's eye. "I will be."

We moved slower after that, and Kili waited for us at a spot which leveled out a bit, and was much less difficult to traverse. The sun was sinking fast, and though we had passed the half-way long before, it would still be another hour or so before we reached the valley.

"Should we stop here?" Kili asked, looking around us, and scuffing his booted foot among the needles for evidence of dry ground beneath. "We could camp for the night."

"Not among the trees," Fili said. "We should sleep in the open, where we have a clear view on all sides."

"Sounding like Thorin," Kili snorted, deepening his voice in imitation: "We keep moving!"

"Aye, unless Sigrid is..."

"I'm fine." I was. In fact, I was doing much better than earlier in the day, for some reason.

So we continued, and the darkness crept onward through the trees surrounding us. It was even harder to find footing in the twilight, and at last Fili struck a light so that we might not stray from the trail. We followed, single file, through the forested path, and at last we reached level, safe ground. It was quite dark, and a fire was quickly built, the torch being plunged into the dry wood as a starter and soon it was crackling merrily. I warmed my hands against the chill air at the base of the mountain, and felt with some happiness the stirring within me.

"Sigrid?" Kili's voice interrupted. "Have we anything to eat?"

"Oh, of course," I said, getting to my feet, and wincing slightly at their soreness, laughing at myself.

"What?"

"Nothing, feet..."

"Aye." Kili pulled off his boots, and propped up his stockinged feed toward the fire, scorching them happily. "Where is Fili?"

I hadn't noticed he'd gone. "Fili..." I called. "Fili?"

"Aye..." His voice was some distance away, and I shaded my eyes, peering into the night.

"What are you doing?"

"Having a look about. Nothing in sight, but an easy path through the valley. A smaller peak, and then we're in the foothills."

His voice came louder as he walked back within the ring of light cast by the fire, and I smiled.

"Do... you want something to eat?"

"Oh, that would be perfect. I'm starving."

As if to give him away, his stomach growled at that instant and he clapped a hand to it. "As I was saying..."

Giggling, I returned and unpacked the stuff that we brought – much like our breakfast, I'm afraid, but it would last until the Lake.

As we will be focusing on making good time tomorrow, I don't think I will get a chance to write, nor the following days, but I shall certainly record when we reach Esgaroth. Until then.