Chapter 20 : A bit of tourism

- "She can stay as long as she doesn't get in the way," Thorin said. "Consider this as a thank-you for your help with our escape in Mirkwood. If you are here for tourism, you will be gone soon."

Thorin stared at his nephews. They had begged to let Aghäte stay here as soon as they arrived.

.

When the last arrivals had joined the rest of the company, it was a general rejoicing. Everyone had survived the dragon; those who had faced him in Erebor and those who had survived in Lake-town. Settled in what looked like a large living room, and which also served as a dining room, thirteen dwarves, one hobbit and one half-human were chatting of the events they endured previously.

Near the fireplace, Aghäte and Bilbo were telling each other about their encounter with the dragon. She assured him that he was indeed dead. He was greatly reassured.

Thorin had ended up asking Aghäte if she planned to stay in Erebor; clarifying the dragon being dead so she had no more reason to stay here. Kíli and Fíli had defended the half-human. Besides, all the dwarves seemed to put their full trust in Aghäte since their escape from the elves' dungeons.

Once Aghäte was allowed to stay, Thorin walked to the door. Before leaving, he stopped and turned to her.

- "Wait here. We'll find you a room. The rest of you, you all know what to do."

- "A room?" Aghäte couldn't help but ask.

- "You are a woman and our guest. So I'm not going to let you sleep with everyone. Unless you prefer the dungeons."

- "N-no. Thank you, I will wait here…", she stammered in surprise at being treated that way.

Thorin left the room. Gradually, the other dwarves left too. Aghäte had time to catch up with Balin to ask him where they were going. He explained to her that they took turns looking for the Arkenstone.

Awaiting Thorin's return, Aghäte was chatting with the hobbit. She already thought he had changed when she had seen him at night in Lake-town, but now she found him very pale. He reassured her by telling her he was just tired. She pretended to believe him and continued a normal discussion.

.

The future King of Erebor finally came back accompanied by Balin. He asked her to follow him. Aghäte didn't want to leave the hobbit alone so she invited him to follow them. She paid attention to the path they took to access her room. She didn't know the building at all and she felt lost.

Balin stopped in front of a door and Thorin opened it. They all went inside. The room was dusty but spacious. It had all the furniture and decor for a female bedroom; even a high-ranking one. Under the dirt, Aghäte could guess a large painting and many wall decorations. On some furniture, there were small objects placed here and there; as if they weren't put away. As if the resident must have left in a hurry, without having had the opportunity to return.

Then, Aghäte realized it must be the bedroom of a dwarf-woman who had to flee quickly following the attack of the dragon. Her heart knotted, hoping she was still alive.

- "Please, excuse us for the state of the room but we didn't expect to have a guest so soon," Balin said. "You can still sleep with all the dwarves if you want."

- "No, it's perfect, don't worry! Thank you for this proposal," she smiled. "I'll clean it up from top to bottom. In this way, the person will find her room ready to live when she returns!"

Aghäte walked over to the large painting on the wall. She was trying to guess who the three people were on it, but the thick layer of dust prevented her from doing so. Bilbo also approached the painting and asked the question on Aghäte's lips from the start.

- "Who did this room belong to?"

Balin looked at Thorin. The Erebor's heir stepped in front of the painting and observed it.

- "This is my sister's room."

Aghäte looked at Thorin who was staring at the painting. He must have missed her.

Two people, who were talking particularly loudly far away, interrupted the painting's observation. Dwalin and Kíli arrived with a bucket of water and cleaning supplies.

- "There you go!" Dwalin said, suddenly dropping the bucket on the ground. "Oh! This is a portrait of Dís, Frerin and Thorin!"

- "A portrait of my mother?!" Kíli shouted, running to Thorin.

- "I'll let you know once I've cleaned it up. Go now! Shoo! I have at least for one day to clean everything up."

The dwarves left but Bilbo volunteered to help Aghäte. He had nothing else to do anyway. She gladly accepted his help when she saw all there was to do.

They spent the day scrubbing and washing everything in the room. Luckily, Aghäte found clean sheets tidy in a chest of drawers. She and Bilbo took a break for lunch with the other dwarves and then they resumed cleaning. The hobbit told Aghäte stories about The Shire. She hadn't been there for many years and she was glad to hear from him.

In the afternoon, Fíli and Bofur had stopped by to see the progress of the cleanup. The two curious didn't stay long because Aghäte had just started to restore the painting. Bilbo left Aghäte when the cleanup was finished. At the end of the day, Balin stopped by to tell her there was a bathroom with a tub where she could wash herself if she wanted. With the turning on of the forges to defeat Smaug, they had hot water. He explained the way to her. Luckily, she wasn't far from her room.

Once she had finished cleaning the painting, she went to take a bath. Coming back to her room, she wanted to lie down for a few minutes on the bed, but she finally fell asleep.

.

The next morning, Aghäte woke up because she felt hungry. Without dinner, her stomach was crying for food. She stood up slowly. With no window in her room, she didn't know what time it was. She put on one of the less dusty dresses in the wardrobes. Since she wasn't tall, the dress was almost her size. She would have preferred pants but she had only that. Anyway, this one was neither torn or stained with blood.

She walked into the living room, hoping to see some dwarves were already waking up. On the way, she could see outside and the sun was barely rising.

In the living room, the fireplace was on and Bombur was making breakfast. Sitting at the table, Ori was writing in his notebook. They were surprised to see her arrive. Bombur served her a big bowl, which Aghäte hastily devoured.

The day passed too quickly for Aghäte. She visited many rooms. Many were filled with the bones of dwarves who hadn't had time to escape, but she still could see some beautiful rooms. She was amazed by the place and all the decorations she saw. She ran into a few dwarves from time to time but they continued on their way; probably to the room where they were looking for the Arkenstone.

In the afternoon, she saw Bilbo in the distance and she wanted to join him. Arriving, she heard he was already talking to Balin. She didn't want to interrupt them so she waited and listened to the conversation. In a worried voice, Bilbo asked Balin if it would be a good thing for Thorin if they found the Arkenstone. He answered him, in an equally deep and worried voice, he was asking the same question. The dwarf even wondered if it would be better never to find this stone. Aghäte decided to leave. She wanted to know why they were all worried about Thorin. She hadn't seen him much since she had arrived; except to welcome her with his nephews or to show her room. She didn't see him during meals either. So she walked to the throne hall.

Even before entering the gigantic hall where the throne of the Erebor's king was, Aghäte could hear yellings. The resonance of the hall amplified the voice even more. As she stepped forward, she realized it was Thorin, sitting on the throne, who was shouting at Dwalin a few feet away from him. Embarrassed, she wanted to turn around but the two dwarves had already noticed her. They both looked at her then Thorin ordered Dwalin to leave.

Dwalin walked past Aghäte, glancing furtively at her. She thought he would be upset but he looked rather sad and disappointed. She was following Dwalin with her eyes when she heard Thorin call her. Shivers ran through her body when her name sounded. She walked over to him as he sat down on the throne.

- "It's strange to hear my name ringing through the walls," she said, trying to lighten the mood. "I feel like I'm being scolded when I haven't done anything yet."

The half-human smiled at Thorin but he stared at her, still annoyed from his discussion with Dwalin. He finally sighed before speaking to her.

- "What do you want?"

- "Me? Nothing. I was just stopping by for news on the Arkenstone research."

- "There aren't any," he said dryly. "Do I look like I have it with me?"

Aghäte looked him up and down then tried to change the subject. Maybe it will change his mood as well.

- "We have finished cleaning your sister's room with Bilbo. I've also restored the painting if you ever want to come and see it."

She thought she saw Thorin calm down a bit so she continued talking.

- "I also visited the floor where my room is. There are a lot of rooms with …"

- "Deaths?"

- "Yes… But there are also some very beautiful rooms!" She tried to make up for it.

Aghäte was about to continue when she saw Bilbo arrive. He walked over to tell them dinner was ready. Thorin stood up; even though he didn't seem like he wanted to.

In the dining room, the company seemed weary. The table had already been set. Some dwarves were by the fire and others already at the table. Kíli and Fíli approached the three arrivals. They asked how she had spent her day before settling down for dinner.

When everyone had finished dinner, Thorin got up to go to his room. Before he opened the door, Dori sharply entered and asked everyone to join him on the ramparts. Without waiting, the company followed the dwarf who was on guard.

From the top of the ramparts, the view was gigantic. They could even see the fire of Lake-town was finally out. During the walk, Dori had explained he had seen lights in Dale. Everyone on the ramparts watched Dale in silence, except Aghäte.

- "The Lake-town's survivors have finally arrived in Dale. The lights we see are certainly fires they made to warm up. Poor things, with the cold outside …"

Aghäte thought of Bard's children and she hoped they were well. She suddenly heard a growl. She turned her head to Thorin and she saw his eyes filled with anger.

- "Go down!" He ordered, heading for the stairs himself. "We're going to block the entrance right now."

A few dwarves blocked but others, like Kíli and Fíli, immediately followed him. Aghäte searched the hobbit's gaze to see if he understood any better than she did, but she saw him following Thorin's eyes.

She was the last to arrive downstairs. The first dwarves to descend were already working and the huge hole Smaug had made on his escape was beginning to fill. Aghäte approached Bilbo and tried to speak quietly.

- "Are they afraid that humans will attack them?"

- "I don't think it's an attack from humans they worried...", he replied, uneasy.

- "Who else could he hide then?" She thought aloud before understanding. "Elves…"

Without further delay, Aghäte walked towards Thorin. He paid no attention to her and remained focused on the dwarves.

- "Do you really think you can fend off humans or elves with this?"

- "Thorin, I don't think that's a good idea…", Bilbo said.

Having no reaction from Thorin, Aghäte grew angry. She didn't want to make a fuss because all of this was none of her business. She growled as Thorin would have done in her place and then she left the place. She took refuge in her room to calm down.