Chapter 19 - Choice n°8: I stay here to heal Kíli

Aghäte was considering the answer she wanted to give Thorin. She wanted more than anything to go to Erebor and get rid of this dragon, but after seeing Kíli's wound, she wondered if she shouldn't stay here. Once her choice was made, she replied to Thorin.

- "I will stay here. Kíli's injury seems too serious to leave. I would feel bad to leave him like this. I will do my best to cure him," she asserted. "If it gets worse, I think my friend Tauriel will join us when she finds out I've run away."

- "Good choice, Lady Aghäte," Balin smiled.

- "Thank you. By the way, thank you also for helping me with the fighting on the river," Thorin said, seriously.

- "Oh it's nothing! I wasn't going to let a future king die! "she joked. "Right, I'm going to join the young people. We might as well take advantage of our last festive evening …"

Aghäte smiled and nodded before leaving the table. Balin and even Thorin smiled back at her.

While Bofur sang, Bifur played the clarinet and Bombur drummed. Kíli and Fíli clapped their hands in rhythm. Smiling, Bilbo was sitting next to them, his pipe in his mouth. When she reached the group, Aghäte took a seat in a chair between Bilbo and Kíli. The hobbit and the half-human bowed their heads respectfully.

- "The plan finally worked," Bilbo said. "I am very happy to see you back here with us. I was hoping your injury was not serious."

- "In truth, it was," she confided in embarrassment. "Fortunately, my father was an elf! Those orcs swords are a real scourge. Right, my dear Kíli?"

Seeing he was ignoring her, Aghäte abruptly put her hand on his injured leg. He jumped but kept it to himself to say nothing. The half-human was starting to boil inside making him pretend she wasn't next to him. She squeezed her hand on the dwarf's leg, who winced in pain.

- "You know that, Orc weapons, right Kíli?"

- "Stop it!" he shouted.

They exchanged angry looks. Fíli, who had heard his brother raise his voice, intervened.

- "What is the problem with both of you? You can't go five minutes without bickering! Here, drink some wine. Maybe it'll calm you down!," he said, holding them a drink each.

They both accepted their drink. Aghäte took back her hand, looking at Kíli one last time. Suspecting she was going to sulk, Fíli tried to change the conversation.

- "Don't drink too much, Aghäte," he said. "Like the last time in Rivendell."

- "Oh don't tell me! I barely remember the end of the evening. I mostly remember the headache the next day. Drinking games are over for me!"

The young nephews laughed at her. Aghäte thought about what their uncle had told him. Kíli surely won't agree to stay here. He had to rest.

- "Kíli, you should go and rest …"

- "Why do you say that ? We have fun here! Look at Bofur slipped on a plate!"

Bofur had indeed slipped on a plate and he had finished his buttocks on the floor. Aghäte couldn't help but laugh at the situation. Even on the ground, Bofur couldn't stop singing. The half-human couldn't help but stare at the young dark hair dwarf's leg. After a sigh, she stood up and told the others that she was going to bed. Before leaving them, she heard Fíli speak aloud.

- "Come on my little Kíli! It's time for you to go to bed too! Aghäte, would you be so kind as to help him up to his room? With everything he drank, he must not stand up!"

Aghäte smiled and agreed. Kíli wanted to oppose his brother but the half-human took his arm and started to lift him. Despite his reluctance, the young dwarf followed Aghäte. The other dwarves burst into laughter when they saw how difficult it was for Kíli to walk, thinking he couldn't stand because of the alcohol.

At the top of the stairs, Kíli pulled away from Aghäte. He opened the door to his room and entered. Without waiting, the half-human followed him inside and closed the door behind her. The room was pleasantly warm with two distant beds and a minimal of furniture.

- "Your room is at the corridor's end, Aghäte. This one is for my brother and me."

- "I know, idiot," she replied exasperated. "Come on, take off your clothes and show me your wound."

- "W-what? I'm not going to undress in front of you !," he shouted, surprised.

Aghäte burst out laughing. She sat on the end of a bed and patted it to signal him to come. Despite his small beard, she saw Kíli's face flush.

Kíli complied, grumbling. Aghäte looked away as he undressed. She was still laughing at the dwarf's reaction earlier.

- "You're very cute when you're embarrassed! I should bother you more often! All right, sit down. And please don't move, it might be painful."

- "Hey! I'm not cute, I'm a dwarf!" he said upset.

The young dwarf laid down casually on his back and he let her do. Aghäte put on a serious face. The condition of the wound was worse than she had imagined. After a long sigh, she pulled her bag closer to her. She cleaned the wound gently. Without even looking at him, she knew that Kíli was grimacing in pain.

Luckily, her father had given her some balm in case she got hurt. She didn't think she would use it so quickly… The wound cleaned, she applied the balm.

Concentrated on what she was doing, Aghäte didn't notice that Kíli was playing with one of her locks of hair with his fingertips.

- "Your hair is so soft…," he blurted out, focusing on the lock.

- "Hmm," she agreed, still focused on the wound. "I had time to wash them in Mirkwood. There you go, I'm done! I am not sure of the result but you should be better tonight! And- But what are you doing with my hair?!"

After bandaging the wound, Aghäte looked at Kíli. He smiled at her as he stroked one of those locks of hair. The blood rushed to her cheeks.

- "You're cute when you're embarrassed! I should bother you more often!" he laughed, getting back his hand.

Aghäte's heart quickened at the sound of the dwarf's laughter. He stood up on his bed with difficulty and patted on it to ask Aghäte to come closer. Not understanding what he wanted, she looked at him without moving.

- "Come sit with your back to me. I'll make you a braid. It will be easier for what awaits us in the mountains."

- "N-no, it's fine. Don't worry," she replied, knowing they wouldn't be leaving tomorrow.

- "Come here, I tell you! You just healed me, at least I can do this for you."

- "Alright Alright ! But I don't want any of your jewelry in my hair! I know what that means now," she laughed.

Aghäte sat down on the bed with her back to Kíli. They chatted during the braiding. Yet when the braid was finished, the dwarf noticed Aghäte had fallen asleep sitting up. Not daring to wake her up, he leaned her back gently and laid her on the right side of the bed. Kíli laid down on the left side and he immediately fell asleep.

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Despite the racket Fíli made while packing his belongings, Aghäte slept peacefully on Kíli's bed. Before leaving the room to have breakfast, he asked his brother to wake her up because they will soon be leaving. Kíli nodded and finished packing his bag.

Stepping around the bed to face Aghäte still asleep, Kíli wondered if he should let her sleep while they all left for Erebor. She would be safer in this town. But he remembered, stubborn as she is, she would join them anyway.

He stood on top of her and gently shook her nearest shoulder. Kíli seemed to hear a few words come out of Aghäte's mouth so he leaned closer.

Half awake, the half-human raised her right hand and placed it on the dwarf's face. Slowly, she pulled him towards her and their lips met. Surprised by this gesture, Kíli blocked and didn't know how to react. It was at this time she opened her eyes fully. She let go of the dwarf's face. He stood up quickly and stammered, trying to explain.

Aghäte straightened up and put her hand to her lips. She excused herself and hurried out of the bedroom to get ready in hers.

In her bedroom, she took the time to realize what had just happened. Ashamed, she hid her face in her hands. She washed her face and then, once her heart was calmed, she went downstairs to join the others for breakfast. She went to sit next to the hobbit; to the opposite of nephews.

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The company's departure was a celebration for the villagers of Lake-town. Many had come to encourage the dwarves for their quest. When Thorin forced Kíli to stay, he was distraught. He got angry when he realized that Aghäte already knew and she agreed with his uncle. Fortunately for him, his brother stayed with him. Even angry, Thorin couldn't change his decision.

When the company left, only Kíli, Fíli, Óin, Bofur and Aghäte remained in town. As soon as the boat was no longer visible, Kíli collapsed. Despite the Aghäte balm from the day before, the fever had returned. Óin then offered to take him to the human who had helped them before. Fíli and Aghäte accepted. Bofur followed the group.

Arrived in front of the house, Aghäte recognized her without the slightest doubt. Bard's house. Anxious at first, she climbed the steps behind the dwarves who begged for hospitality. Bard eventually reluctantly agrees. They all went into his house and sat down. While Fíli supported his brother, Óin and Aghäte considered how they could treat him. In a rush, she asked for a place where Kíli could lie down. Bard showed her his bedroom. Óin was preparing a drink to calm the young dwarf and put him to sleep.

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Fíli had sat on the floor next to his brother to hold his hand. As for Aghäte, she had cleaned the wound again. There was no improvement from the old one. Her balm didn't do anything to him. Kíli had finally fallen asleep and his breathing seemed calm.

- "I'm sorry Fíli," she whispered with tears in her eyes. "The healing I gave him last night didn't change anything… When I was hit by the sword in the river, the poison didn't have time to spread but I was in so much pain. I was lucky to be treated quickly. He must suffer atrociously. I dare not imagine …"

- "Don't worry, dwarves are stronger than you think," he said, putting his hand on the half-human's shoulder to reassure her. "You have already done a lot. I'm sure he will heal soon!"

Aghäte couldn't tell if Fíli really believed what he was saying or if he was trying to convince himself. However, there was no doubt for her. If Kíli didn't receive proper care, he will die shortly.

She stood up and told the young blond dwarf to watch over his brother. She left the room to join Bard.

Bofur and Óin were talking on their side. Aghäte went to sit by the fire to thank Bard for his generosity under the circumstances. Tilda sat on her father's lap telling her everything she had missed after she left.

- "Tilda, can you let her breathe a little ?," her father asked. "Go back with your sister, please."

- "Right …" she agreed.

- "I'm sorry to impose all this on you Bard …"

- "Don't worry. You're not the biggest problem here," he smiled.

- "Yes, it's true," she laughed.

- "Do you know each other already?" the blond dwarf said, sitting next to her.

- "Yes. Even her daughter taught me how to cook stew!" she joked. "Has your brother's condition changed?"

- "His fever has dropped but his wound remains the same."

- "I see… We can't afford to wait for Tauriel. We have to find something to calm him down before she arrives. She will know how to treat him better than me, but I don't think she will arrive until tomorrow …"

With Óin's help, Aghäte tried to think of a solution. She even asked Sigrid what he was treating at home, but nothing was of any help against an orc wound.

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The next morning, everyone ate their breakfast while Aghäte again cleaned Kíli's wound; still in Bard's bed. She jumped when she felt him take a lock of her hair. She let him go and concentrated on applying the new balm the dwarf healer made earlier.

- "Our treatments are ineffective…," she confessed in a barely audible voice. "Óin has brewed a new balm but I'm not sure it will work. But don't give up hope. I'm sure Tauriel will join us soon and she'll save you! I'm sorry Kíli."

- "It's not your fault. I should have been careful when we were on the river. Without your help, I might still be there," he laughed weakly.

- "This is not the time to joke Kíli!" she said, holding back from crying. "You need to rest, I'll let you sleep."

Aghäte tried to stand up, but Kíli's hand caught her. He implored her to stay with him. She stayed talking to him until he fell asleep. His brother then took over.

In the late afternoon, she entered Bard's bedroom and saw the two brothers chatting quietly. Aghäte examined Kíli's wound. There had been no change.

Bard knocked on the door and he explained he had to go outside for a while. He asked Aghäte to look after his children. She politely agreed and the human left the house.

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The sky was dark and the cold was felt in the house. All the dwarves and Bard's children were already seated around the table. Kíli had insisted on getting out of bed even though he was paler than ever. Supper time was almost over and Bard still hadn't come back.

Wondering if he hadn't been in trouble, Aghäte offered to go look for him outside. While she was getting on her daggers, Fíli and Kíli told her it was a bad idea, but she didn't listen to them. When she opened the door, she found herself face to face with two orcs armed with sharp swords. She just had time to step back to avoid their attacks. Another entered, smashing the window. Everyone was already on their feet. Panic flooded the house. Bofur charged the window orc before an elf himself stepped in. Fighting against the two orcs, Aghäte saw Fíli supporting his brother who had passed out. If someone hadn't intervened, the half-human would never have finished her fight. Lucky for her, her friend Tauriel killed one of the orcs and Legolas finished off the other.

More orcs gradually arrived. Aghäte brought Bard's children to safety and then ran to Kíli. The other three dwarves and the two elves fought the orcs as best they could in this small space.

When the fighting died down, Tauriel explained to Aghäte that the town was full of orcs outside. Legolas cut her off and asked her to follow him. Aghäte implored Tauriel to help her save his friend, showing Kíli. His brother had laid him down on the table. He was struggling to breathe and he was sweating profusely.

Tauriel turned her gaze to Legolas and confirmed she would stay here long enough to treat the injured. The elf prince growled and then ran off.

Tauriel examined the dwarf's wound and asked for ingredients to make the treatment. Fortunately, Aghäte and Óin had collected during the day. She didn't know how to perform an elven treatment, but at least she knew the essential ingredients. Gradually, Kíli regained consciousness. He was surprised to see the elf with whom he had chatted in prison. She pronounced Elvish words while putting her hand on his wound. Looking around, he understood the fighting was over. He tried to move but he felt his left hand taken by his brother and his right hand by Aghäte.

The elf stepped back and claimed he was saved. Fíli took his brother in his arms and Aghäte did the same with Tauriel. She was embarrassed by this outpouring of affection, but she hugged her back. After letting go, Aghäte hugged Kíli. He smiled as much as his brother.

The rejoicings were cut off when the walls of the house began to shake with a distant thud. All looked around to see where it came from except one person. Aghäte. She knew that sound, she had heard it many, many years ago. Her gaze focused first on the young dark hair dwarf and then on the blond gravely. They understood what it meant. The quakes started again. From one of the windows, they could all see the house across the road instantly catching fire. The flames were gigantic. There was no more a minute to lose. They needed to leave this town.

- "Tauriel!" she called out, taking her bow against the fireplace. "Take Sigrid and Tilda with you and run away from here now. Bain, I'm going to need you. We have to find your father right away! The others, follow Tauriel and help her find a boat."

- "What are you going to do?," Tauriel asked, helping the girls to their feet.

- "I'll get Bard and we'll kill this dragon. Sigrid, where is the Black Arrow?"

Sigrid climbed into a chair, lifted the arrow off the ceiling and brought it to her. Óin and Bofur walked past to check for danger, then Tauriel walked the girls out. Aghäte was equipping her bow when Kíli, supported by Fíli, approached her.

- "This is madness," he asserted. "We all have to flee this town."

- "No. Stay with your brother," she said, putting her hand on Kíli's shoulder.

- "But," he said, putting his hand on Aghäte's. "You can't kill Smaug!"

- "I don't. But Bard does. Come on Bain, let's go !," she said, taking the Black Arrow and heading for the exit.

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Bain and Aghäte ran through the inflamed streets. It was very difficult to move forward because the danger was everywhere. Everything threatened to fall apart. The villagers were running in all directions to survive. No one would stop to help them find the man they were looking for. The dragon continued to breathe fire everywhere.

Aghäte was starting to lose hope when the young human yelled for having found his father. Shooting arrows at the dragon, he was perched on top of a tower.

After a race strewn with pitfalls and flames, they reached the top of the tower. Bard had no more arrows and the dragon had noticed him. Aghäte gave him the Black Arrow.

Without waiting, he asked his son to put his back to the dragon. He used his left shoulder to aim at Smaug. The dragon was smiling and rushing towards them at full speed. Aghäte watched the whole scene without saying anything. When she saw the arrow go off and hit its mark, she couldn't help but sigh in relief. The dragon fell, ravaging half of the town.

The tower gradually tilted. It was going to collapse anytime soon. Aghäte told Bain to come down quickly. Bard told her to follow his son. Unfortunately, they didn't have time to hit the ground as the tower collapsed. Aghäte swam to a boat. She saw Bain and rowed towards him. The young man begged her to look for his father, but Aghäte told him that the most important thing right now was to find safety.

They rowed to the beach where the living villagers had managed to escape. Barely on the ground, Sigrid ran over to Bain to hug him. Tilda did the same then ran towards Aghäte.

- "Where's my dad?" she asked, looking around.

Bain, Sigrid and Aghäte didn't know what to say to her when suddenly they heard their father calling them away. They called out to him and Bard came running to hug his children.

Observing the small family, Aghäte smiled. She was so happy they were all safe and sound. She turned to look at Lake-town still in flames. The dragon had once again ravaged the town, but he was definitely dead. Without seeing him, Bard walked over to her and hugged her.

- "Thank you, Aghäte! Thanks for bringing Bain back!"

- "Oh! Thank you for killing the dragon," she said, patting him gently on the back.

As Bard hugged her, she heard her name in the crowd. The man let go of her and she could see Tauriel, Kíli and Fíli coming towards her. The two dwarves came to hug her at the same time. "I'm choking!" she could barely say. Tauriel wanted to approach her too, but Legolas called to her. The Elf King was there and he wanted to talk to her. Aghäte saw him in the distance and hid discreetly behind the dwarves. If he saw her, her father would be in trouble.

Once Tauriel left, the young dwarves told Aghäte to follow them to find Óin and Bofur. They were in the process of consolidating their belongings.

- "Aghäte, you are alive!" Bofur exclaimed.

- "I'm relieved to see you again!" Óin said.

- "I'm glad to see you too. I can't imagine Thorin's face if there was one missing when you join him!" she laughed.

- "What are you going to do now?" Bofur asked, a little embarrassed.

They all knew she had joined them to kill the dragon. Now he was dead, what was she going to do?

She looked at Bard's family in the distance. They were all smiling alongside their father despite the disaster that had just happened. A dwarf interrupted his reflection.

- "Why don't you come with us?" Kíli suggested.

- "I would be surprised if your uncle would let a half-elf into Erebor," she said with a smile but sad eyes.

- "It seems Erebor is beautiful. It would be a shame to miss out on all the books you've read on them, right?," Fíli said.

- "Yes. It's true," she confessed shamefully. "But-"

- "Come with us and we'll see what our uncle decides when we get there," the young dark hair dwarf said.

Embarrassed, Aghäte nodded then smiled. All the dwarves smiled back at her.

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Once ready to leave, Aghäte went to say goodbye to Bard and his family. They had a long way to go before they got there. Before night fell, they encamped and resumed their journey at dawn.

At the foot of the entrance to Erebor, they all looked tiny. Taking the time to observe the smallest details, they walked inside the mountain. It was the hobbit who came to greet them. Standing aside behind them, Aghäte listened to him speak. He explained Thorin had changed and that it wasn't good for them to stay here. Yet, Kíli still wanted to see his uncle.

The discussion ended, Bilbo ended up leading them to the room where Thorin was. Aghäte had seen many dwarf buildings in her life, but this hall was huge! And yet, all the gold accumulated must have concealed three-quarters of its space. When they walked over to their uncle, Thorin's face lit up.

- "My nephews! Look at the riches of Erebor! Your richness!"

The half-human preferred to stay with the hobbit. He looked very tense and tired.

- "Everything is fine, Bilbo? Have you met the dragon?"

- "Hmm…," he hesitated. "I'm fine, but Thorin worries me. And regarding the dragon, it was the worst experience of my life! Come, follow me. We will join the others."

Bilbo took one last glance at the dwarves chatting near the gold. Aghäte watched them too, then followed the hobbit.

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Continued in chapter 20.