Chapter Forty-Four: The When-Convenient Companion

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You'll never know, dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away"

Emelia paused, smiling down at Tilda. "I told you I was awful."

Tilda smirked, lifting Galon higher up on her back with a heave. She was struggling under his weight after traveling for the better part of the day, but Emelia couldn't let them stop. "You weren't lying." She sounded winded. Emelia wished she could take both boys, but she couldn't, not with her back being a bloody mess. It was only a little further, she told herself over and over again until it was the only thing she could think about, and then they would all be able to eat something and rest.

Emelia had to fight to keep her laugh at a normal volume. She felt slightly delirious, manic even. She found everything funny, even though nothing was at the moment. Hiron giggled from his spot in her arms. Emelia gave him a dirty look, which only caused him to giggle even louder. She covered his mouth with her other hand, causing him to squirm. "I'll sing again." Emelia threatened, very mindful to keep her voice low. "I'll do it."

"Please don't." Tilda begged, half seriously. Emelia stopped jogging long enough at the edge of a clearing to glance down at her.

Tilda was exhausted. Her pretty face was beat red and covered in sweat, while her arms shook with the effort of keeping Galon from falling backwards. Emelia could see sweat staining the front of her dress and under armpits, despite the cold temperature of the air. Even when they weren't speaking, Tilda breathed through her mouth with a wheezing sound that troubled Emelia to no end. "You alright?"

Tilda nodded, swallowing thickly. "I," She paused, catching her breath. "I just want to stop running."

"Me too." Emelia admitted, bending down so that she could set Hiron down. Tilda immediately copied her actions and set Galon down as well. They, like they were two halves of a magnet, sat as close as they could get to each other, wrapping their little arms around each other and laying back in the grass. They seemed a little happier today, which made the perpetual knot in Emelia's stomach lessen just ever so slightly. Tilda moaned softly, stretching her arms above her head, flexing her bluish fingers. "We'll rest for a bit and then move on?"

"I'm so tired." Tilda admitted, although she seemed as if she didn't want to. "I can't feel my fingers."

"Me too." Emelia sat down in the dead grass as well, resisting the urge to flop back and go back to sleep. The singing, which she had done to distract them for a bit, had taken even more out of her than she liked to admit. "It's only a little longer."

Tilda laid back in the grass, staring up at the sky. It was overcast, making it even chillier than Emelia thought it had a right to be, and miserable looking. She would be happier if it was sunny and warm, she figured, but then again she would also be sweating more. It was a tossup about which she would prefer. Emelia didn't allow herself to relax the way Tilda was. She couldn't, not after what happened.

Her eyes darted from tree to tree, checking to see if there was anything moving, anything that wanted to kill them. "You don't have any children, do you?"

Emelia chocked on the air she was breathing in, coughing violently. Her eyes bugged, comically probably, as she tried to process the ludicrousness of the question. "No. Why would you think that?"

Despite the tomato redness in her face, Tilda blushed more. She seemed embarrassed, although Emelia didn't see why. "You're very good with children and Sigrid says Ma was your age already when she had her. I thought maybe…"

Emelia snorted and then realized that wasn't the way she was supposed to react. She immediately backtracked. "Sorry. No, I don't. Your mother was married to your father, so she was already ahead of me."

"Sigrid says they were really in love."

"They probably were." Emelia said, picking at a sharp blade of grass. "Give me your hands."

Tilda placed them in Emelia's outstretched hands, peering up at her with a questioning look on her face. She started rubbing them to give them a little warmth, cringing at the coldness of them.

"I wish I knew what that feels like."

"What?"

"Being in love."

Emelia openly stared at her, hands pausing. There were moments, very uncomfortable ones that made Emelia feel like she was being out-matured by a child, that Tilda sounded so much older than she was. "It'll happen." She said, not really sure if she was supposed to say anything else. Stock answer, but it was all she could really think of. "You've got time."

"Have you ever…"

"Been in love?" Emelia finished for her, thinking for a moment. A certain dark-headed dwarf's face instantly popped up in her mind, but she pointedly ignored it. "Maybe. There was this one guy that I felt really strongly about for a good majority of high school. He never really returned the feelings though."

"Why not?" Tilda scooted closer, curiosity written all over her face. Emelia shouldn't have said anything.

Emelia shrugged, thinking of the best possible escape route from the current conversation. "He just didn't. I don't know, maybe he thought I was weird, which is definitely true, but he just never saw me that way. He went to college after we graduated and," She paused, realization dawning on her. "I never saw him again."

"So you didn't love him?"

"I thought so, at the time." Emelia admitted, feeling the embarrassment of her high school-self washing over her, once again. "But now I know that I definitely didn't. I thought he was cool and super hot, but he didn't care enough about me to even bother to get to know me. He probably forgot all about me, actually."

"That's so sad." Tilda sounded truly upset by the idea of Emelia's high school crush forgetting about her. She supposed it would be sad, if he was actually someone who was worth remembering. Truthfully, Emelia had forgotten all about him, up until now, and didn't think she would spend much time, if any, thinking about him in the future.

"It's not, Tilda." Emelia stood up, holding out a hand to help Tilda up as well. "I was going to go school and study and forget all about him anyway."

"You weren't in love then. If you were, he couldn't have forgotten about you. Da hasn't ever forgotten Ma. He talks about her all the time."

"Are you sure you're eight? Because I'm thinking you've been lying to me this entire time and you're actually like thirty-five."

Tilda smiled, blushing at the compliment. Emelia, feeling uncharacteristically spontaneous, reached out and grabbed her around the shoulders, pulling her into a tight hug. Tilda hesitated for a moment before she wrapped her small arms around Emelia and squeezed her back.

"Do we have to keep running?" Tilda asked, a look on her face that indicated she wanted nothing more than to collapse back on the ground.

"Yea, we do." Emelia said, walking over to Hiron and Galon. She bent down at the waist and picked up Hiron, biting her lip to keep the sound of pain from coming out. "You're heavier than earlier."

"Emelia." Tilda placed a hand on Emelia's lower back, startling her. Emelia turned around, using her hip as an anchor to keep Hiron from falling.

"Yes?" Emelia tried to keep her voice from sounding annoyed in anyway. She wasn't. "Here, we'll trade."

Tilda held open her arms, wincing at Hiron's weight when Emelia handed him to her. Emelia ruffled Hiron's hair, making a face at him that caused him to laugh. She picked up Galon next and positioned him so that he was wrapping his arms around her neck. One of his hands dipped lower on her back, accidentally, and scraped her wound. Emelia hissed, closing her eyes, trying to keep herself from making any louder sounds.

"I'm sorry he forgot about you."

Emelia paused in her subtle repositioning of Galon, peering around him to look at Tilda.

"I'm not. I honestly don't even care." Emelia hefted Galon up and flexed her arms. "Besides," Emelia paused, deciding whether she should say what popped into her mind. Now that she thought it though, it hardly matter if she said it to Tilda or not. She hesitated, feeling very superstitious when she thought about what her mother always said about speaking out loud. She thought it though, and she realized, quite suddenly and delightfully, that it was probably true. "I found something better."

It was dark and cold, but Emelia didn't stop running. Tilda now had one hand wrapped around her skirt, using it half to keep up and half to stop herself from falling over. Galon was slipping in Emelia's grip, but he hardly noticed. Hiron was wheezing, his nose plugged so full of dirt and snot he could hardly breathe any more.

They were so close. They had to be.

"Emelia, I can't…" Tilda trailed, pulling on her skirt even harder.

"Close." Emelia breathed, mouth so dry she could hardly speak. "We're so close, Til."

"I can't do it." Tilda yanked her skirt, forcing Emelia to skid to a halt.

Emelia didn't like not running. The idea that something could jump out at them at any moment seemed suddenly so relevant. She didn't think she could do it again. She had been doing so well, not thinking about the orc, but there it was again, surging forward to the front of her mind. The little fact that there wasn't a lake to drown something in made a bubble of panic spring up in her chest.

Emelia looked in front of her, desperate to see something. Trees. So many trees.

Trees were technically pretty, but in that moment, Emelia had the alarming desire to chop them all down. Maybe set them on fire. Anything to get them closer to help.

Emelia blinked, realizing that she might be edging towards delirious. If her mind was suddenly partial to fire as a means of clearing a path from her to the rest of the people of Lake-town, she must be going crazy.

"Tilda we have to…"She stopped talking, narrowing her eyes at the dense thicket of trees in front of her. There was a light. It was faint, flickering like a fire. Her face blanched, going white as bone as she realized what she was looking at. "Oh my god."

"I have to sit down." Tilda said, setting Hiron down at Emelia's feet, bending over at the waist and breathing heavily. Hiron looked up at her, seeming to not understand what was bothering her.

"Tilda, look!"

"Just for a bit." Tilda said, sounding so quiet and exhausted Emelia was surprised she was even speaking at all.

"Tilda." Emelia repositioned Galon, freeing up one of her arms. She grabbed Tilda by the shoulder and turned her to look at the little light.

"Is that them?" Tilda had to use Emelia to keep herself upright. She leaned against her side, having to use her waist as an anchor to keep standing.

"Only one way to find out." Emelia pitched her hip sideways, shifting Galon once again.

Tilda looked at it for a moment, breathing through her nose and mouth, before she took off running.

"Tilda, wait!"

She was already gone. Emelia stared after her, calling her name over and over again. Typical. Emelia looked down at Hiron and saw him staring after Tilda and her sprinting form with his mouth open. Galon was watching her too, even going so far as to lean out from her body to see better. Emelia struggled to keep her grip on him. "Hiron, come here." She bent down and grabbed him, placing him on her other hip. "Hold on, okay?"

She waited for him to nod before she took off after Tilda. It was a disaster, to say the least. Her gait was gangly and awkward and she could hardly move faster than a slightly speedy skip. Tilda was moving faster than her, spurred by the idea of her family waiting for her or food, Emelia didn't know. She did know, however, that she wouldn't be able to keep up her with her even if she tried.

She darted around some of the trees in her path, doing her best not to lose sight of Tilda's head. She debated shouting at her, but immediately decided against it, not knowing what was in the forest with them. They were getting close to the source of the light, but Emelia still couldn't see who, or, what it was. With their luck, it was a pack of orcs waiting to eat them. Technically speaking, she didn't know if orcs eat people, but it seemed like something they would do and she had a flair for dramatics as of late.

Tilda suddenly stopped up ahead, waving her arms frantically. Emelia moved faster, squeezing her arms tighter to keep the twins from bouncing too much. It wasn't really working and she thought they might be getting a little queasy. Hiron squeezed the material of her shirt, pressing his face into her shoulder. Galon's stomach rumbled and Emelia panicked at the idea that he might throw up on her. If he threw up, she would throw up.

"Tilda, come back here." Emelia said, unaware of the bite in her voice. She shouldn't be annoyed with Tilda for jumping at the first possibility of seeing her family, but she was. Tilda didn't listen to her in the slightest, even after what happened with the orc, she didn't listen. She kept moving forward for a moment before she disappeared behind a very large tree. Emelia expected her to reappear after a moment. When she didn't, her heart sank all the way into the bottom of her stomach. "Tilda!" She shouted for her, completely forgetting her own personal promise to keep quiet.

"Don't move."

Emelia froze, skidding in the crunching grass. She just managed to stop her forward momentum before she ran face first into the man currently brandishing a sword at her. He pushed the tip forward, coming dangerously close to her.

"You are familiar." The man didn't lower the sword, although he stepped forward and peered at her from behind very large eyebrows and tired eyes. It was a man, not an orc, so she wasn't too afraid. Despite, the weapon just ghosting over her sternum, Emelia relaxed, allowing herself to take a deep, calming breath. It was only a man.

"Are you from Lake-town?" Emelia asked, keeping a very tight hold her charges. She tried to take a step back when they both shivered, only to have the man follow after her. "Where's Tilda?"

"Who are you?"

"I asked you first." Emelia said, trying to speak with authority she didn't have.

"Lower your weapon, Thibben." The man, Thibben, looked over his shoulder and cursed under his breath.

"I don't take orders from you, Alfrid."

Emelia never thought she would be happy to see Alfrid, but there she was, smiling at the sight of him. He stepped out from behind one of the trees, holding a torch very close to him. It looked so warm, although he made no movement to share that with her or the two children clutching at her. Both boys made identical involuntary noises of fear at the sight of the nasty man, causing Alfrid to sneer at them. Emelia tried to turn so that they were facing away, but quickly realized that was impossible with them on both sides.

"Where's Tilda?" Emelia asked, cutting to the chase with Alfrid. Alfrid eyed her for a moment, sneering, before he reached sideways, and pulled a very frightened looking Tilda out from behind the tree he was just standing behind. Emelia got the distinct feeling he was waiting to do that to add dramatic effect. She rolled her eyes.

"Already found her, no thanks to you." Alfrid said, an annoying amount of superiority lacing his voice. "Running around with no light, poor thing. Probably scared of you."

"Where's Bard? Where are the others?" Emelia asked, trying to step around Alfrid towards Tilda. He stopped her with a hand close to her face, invading her personal space in a way that made her lip curl with disgust.

"You speak about him with respect. He's the Master now."

"Are you being serious?" Emelia asked.

"I'll take you to him, Miss." The other man, Thibben, offered, shooting a very dirty look at Alfrid when he wasn't looking. "I'll take one of them off your hands." Emelia, while naturally wary, was all too willing to take the help when offered. She tried to hand him Hiron, only to have the boy squeeze her so tightly he managed to grab skin as well. She grimaced, pulling him back from Thibben.

"I have him. Show us the way?" Emelia could almost feel the warm fullness of food in her stomach, the cleanliness of a change of clothes on her body. The hugs from the dwarves. Her back taken care of. Kili. It was all so nice to think about it made her head spin.

"Shut it, Thibben. We can't just let every vagabond who bats an eye come to camp."

"Alfrid, it's me. Emelia, sometimes travel companion of Thorin Oakenshield when its convenient for him, maker of the worst decisions possible, and occasional compulsive liar when confronted by incarceration. You literally had dinner with me two nights ago."

"I'm not sure." Alfrid had the nerve to lean towards her again, causing both the boys in her arms to squirm and her gag reflex to act up. "You hardly look like anybody with all that muck on your face."

"I'm not in the mood. Is everybody that way?" Emelia pointed towards the edge of the forest, towards the largest source of light.

"I'll take you." Thibben said quickly before Alfrid could argue further. Emelia smiled at him appreciatively, turning to give Alfrid and deadly glare before she followed after the older man. She nodded at Tilda, who squirmed out of Alfrid's grasp and reattached herself at her side, digging her hands into the material of her skirt.

"Bard will hear about this." Alfrid warned.

"Cool." Emelia said flippantly. She followed Thibben for a moment before she turned back around, glaring at the much taller Alfrid. "And don't touch Tilda again."

"You have no authority over me."

"I'll tell Bard you said so. I'm sure he'll be happy to know about how you thought it was appropriate to prevent his daughter and two toddlers from eating, receiving medical attention, and sleeping for the first time in over a day."

"You little…"

"Thibben, right?" Emelia turned to the other man, smiling at him. Her eye twitched with anger at Alfrid. Of all the people who she imagine didn't make it out of Lake-town, he just had to be one of the one's who did. "Can we go?"

Thibben smiled widely at her and nodded, starting towards the camp once again. He walked with a limp, laboring on his left leg like it was sporting an open wound. He didn't seem like he really knew how to use the sword he was armed with, and the fact that Emelia had been around the dwarves long enough to know how to tell that about someone was not lost on her. If she wasn't so tired, she might even be impressed with herself. She would have to tell Fili and Dwalin, when she got the chance. They had tried so hard to teach her something, they would be proud something, the most minimal of somethings, had stuck.

He led her past another outcropping of trees, checking over his shoulder every once and while to see if she was still following him.

As if she would do otherwise.

The camp was down by the lake. They passed through an outer circle of tents and a few fires, each surrounded by equally miserable looking groups of people. A few of them stared at her, recognition on their faces. Even more, however, kept to themselves, tending their loved ones wounds and scraping food out of cookpots that had seen better days. The smell of burned flesh and wet fabric mix together, coating the little camps like blankets, stifling the people until it seemed like they couldn't even breathe through all the grief.

There was one woman who didn't have anyone sitting with her. She clutched a pair of shoes to her chest, sobbing over them. Another, much older, held a bloody cloth to her head, pale as a ghost. A man went from tent to ramshackle tent, checking on everyone. One woman was handing out blankets. None of them noticed Emelia and her little group. She didn't want them to. She walked faster, awkward gait putting pressure on her feet.

"How many?"

"Lost?" Thibben finished for her, seeing the look on her face. "We don't have any way of knowing for now. Bard thought he lost his littlest one, I tell you."

"He probably isn't the only one. These little stinkers have been asking about their parents." Emelia said, looking forward. She didn't want to look at the people anymore. Maybe she could tomorrow.

Thibben remained quiet, her unanswered question hanging in the air heavily. Tilda glanced up at Emelia, then Hiron and Galon. She was being smarter than any eight year old had any right to be again. Emelia shook her head, keeping the look of sadness off her face for their sake. They could find out later.

It wasn't long until they were to the middle of the encampment. The number of people increased as they got close to the large fire built up in the middle. A few more people seemed to recognize her. Even more knew Tilda. One woman burst into tears at the sight of her. It made an odd feeling bloom in Emelia's chest, one that made it a little harder to breath. Tilda squeezed the material of her skirt, pulling on it enough to expose Emelia's knees and lower thighs.

"Tilda! Tilda, is that you?"

Tilda let go of Emelia's once again and ran towards the source of the voice. People turned to watch her. For once, Emelia didn't feel like she needed to run after her. Sigrid, who's face was covered in messy tears, held out her arms for Tilda. When they collided, she wrapped her arms around Tilda and pulled her into her chest, squeezing so tightly Emelia worried for a moment about whether or not the younger girl could breathe. Bain stuck his head out of the nearby tent, face scrunched up in confusion until he saw what had happened. He immediately latched himself onto his sisters, arms circling both of their smaller frames. He was crying too, although he tried to subtly wipe the tears away.

Bard was the last of the small family to appear, although his reaction at seeing Tilda was the one that caused a few pesky tears to spring up in Emelia's eyes. She rubbed them off on her shoulder and waited for the family to have their moment, feeling like she would be intruding if she interrupted them. She shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, waiting until it looked like they were done. After a bit, during which they never let go of each other, she decided that the pain in her back and the numbness in her arms was worth it.

She picked her way over to them, tiptoeing to avoid putting any unnecessary weight on the balls of her feet.

When none of them took any notice of her, she cleared her throat, trying to look as apologetic as she possibly could for the intrusion.

"Emelia? Is that you?" Bard stepped back from his children, although he kept his right arm firmly around Tilda's shoulders.

"Yea?" Emelia blinked rapidly. She would run hand over her face if she had one to spare. "Why, do I not look like me?"

"You're covered in mud and blood." The mud she should have expected. The blood was a shock. She didn't think it was hers, although she wouldn't quote herself on that if her numbness was anything to go on. "Are you injured?"

"Her back is." Tilda piped up. Sigrid and Bain each rushed forward to grab a twin. They had to pry their arms off her and when they were finally free, they started crying. Emelia winced. She wasn't sure if she liked the weightlessness of her arms, now that they were gone. She had gotten so used to carrying one of them, she felt empty without something.

"Hey, no crying." She said softly, reaching out one of her hands to smooth down Galon's hair. "They just taking you to get something to eat."

Sigrid and Bain walked towards the small group huddled around the fire. Tilda looked like she wanted to go with them, but stayed. Bard waited until they were gone before he turned to Emelia. He placed his hand on her shoulder and drew her closer to him, the sincere look on his face making Emelia slightly uncomfortable for reasons she couldn't quite put into words.

"I cannot express how grateful I am to you, Emelia." He made it seem like she had done something more than she had. She looked down at her feet, at the grass, at anything but him.

"It was nothing." She said after a moment.

"You saved my daughter's life."

"She helped." Emelia said quickly, brushing one of her dirt covered curls behind her ear. "It was a team effort."

"I will repay you." Bard said, squeezing her shoulder to tightly she thought the bone might snap.

"Bard, really. It was nothing."

"You need dry clothes, both of you, and something to eat." Bard said, mercifully sensing Emelia's discomfort. "Tauriel can look at you wound."

"Tauriel?" Emelia allowed him to lead her inside the tent that was hastily put together. It was stuck into the ground superficially, so that it could be taken down quickly if they needed to run. The ground wasn't even covered, it serving simply as a place to escape the cold for a bit. The elf in question and Legolas, whom Emelia immediately responded to with internal hostility after he left her in Lake-town, were surprised to see her. They stepped away from each other when they saw her. They looked like they had been talking about something important, although she didn't have the foggiest as to what that would be.

She stared blankly at them for a moment, resisting the urge to walk across the very small tent and punch Legolas square in the jaw. It was the least she could do.

It was not Tauriel, however, that Emelia was surprised to see, but rather her lack of company besides Legolas.

"Where are the dwarves?" She asked, taking a step further into the tent to make room for Bard. "They were with you."

"Emelia, come sit down." Tauriel said. There was nothing to sit on. Emelia had the urge to point that out with a nasty tone, but she refrained.

"Where are they?"

Tauriel glanced back at Legolas, who rolled his eyes at her hesitation. "They left for the mountain some time ago."

If trucks existed in here, Emelia would have been certain she had just been hit by one. She thought she must have heard him wrong. Her mouth opened and closed, fighting to find the right words to say before she blurted out the only ones she could say without shouting. "You're lying."

Legolas scoffed and the desire to hit him again surged forward. "Why would we have any reason to lie?"

"They were with you." Emelia said, accidentally smacking Tauriel's hand when she came around behind her to look at her back. "Sorry, reflex. Anyway, they were with you in Lake-town. Fili said Kili was with you." Hyperventilation seemed liked a very real possibility at the moment. Or perhaps a panic attack. "They should be here."

There was an awkward silence. "Tauriel, heal her. We have already lingered too long."

Emelia glowered at Legolas. "Why would they…" Her voice felt very thick, like her throat was closing up. "Did they say why they left?"

"May I look at your back?"

Tauriel hovered behind Emelia, hands already peeling back the tatters of her shirt. Emelia nodded, although she wasn't really paying attention to the elf behind her.

"I'll have someone bring you something to eat. We don't have much." Bard said, sensing the tension in the room building. He stepped back, trying to duck out before he was dragged into whatever conflict was brewing.

"Thank you." Emelia said, distracted. "Take the blond one with you."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Emelia seethed, hissing when Tauriel touched her raw skin. "You left me in Lake-town, if you'll recall."

"I saved your life."

"And then promptly dropped me on the ground like a hot potato with a dragon coming."

"Emelia, have you tried to clean this?" Tauriel asked, pointedly ignoring to bickering.

"No. I didn't exactly have time."

"I am trying to help you." Tauriel said softly. Emelia felt only slightly bad for her tone.

"I'm sorry."

"How long?" Legolas asked, coming to stand next to Tauriel. He peered down at her exposed back and made a face. Emelia snapped her fingers at him, trying to turn so that he couldn't see.

"I didn't give you permission to look at me, you pervert."

"I am not bothered by your nudity." Legolas deadpanned, face void of expression. Emelia narrowed her eyes, trying to decide if he was being serious or not.

"I'm not nud…" Emelia let out an involuntary groan of pain when Tauriel ripped the neck of her shirt, exposing all of her upper back. "A little warning next time?"

"It will be easier if you lay on the ground."

Emelia did as she was told, holding the front of her shirt up for her own modesty's sake. She laid down on the ground and placed her hands under her head. It felt almost sinfully good to lay down, even if the earth was cold and uneven. Sleep seemed like such a tempting option, but she forced herself not to even allow her eyes to close longer than a blink. Tauriel left the tent for a moment, leaving Emelia and Legolas alone. Even though she hardly said anything, Tauriel had been such a nice buffer. Emelia glanced up at him and noticed he was watching her. The warmth in the tent was making her back sting, reminding her, once again, that it was probably the blond elf's fault in the first place she got hurt. He was chasing orcs through Lake-town after all.

There should be some sort of rule about doing those sorts of things in a residential area. "You missed one, by the way."

"What?"

"An orc. You missed one. It found us this morning by the lake."

"What did it look like?" Legolas bent down so he could look at her.

"Like an orc."

"No, did it have any distinctive features?"

He wasn't being serious, surly. Emelia stuck her face in her hands and groaned. "It looked like it wanted to kill us. I didn't really stop to do a detailed sketch so I could remember it."

"A scout?"

"Legolas, I literally have no idea."

"I wasn't speaking to you." Legolas said, standing back up. He started pacing, thinking hard. Or so she assumed.

"Uh, pardon me." If she wasn't afraid of her shirt falling off at sudden movements, she really would have hit him. She thought she could land one good hit before he stopped her. She had been lucky lately. Before Emelia could risk a wardrobe malfunction in the name of justice, Tauriel came back in, arms full. She had a set of clothes, a pair of boots, and a small parcel.

"I could not find much. These are men's clothes, but they will keep you warmer than what you have. Medicinal supplies are scarce, but I think I have found enough to prevent infection for now." She sat down on the ground next to Emelia, gracefully pulling her hair behind her back. "Legolas, will you please find me fresh water to clean the wound?"

"There was a scout, Tauriel."

"An orc scout? Where?" She momentarily forgot about Emelia. Her hands paused above her back. "When?"

"Emelia was attacked by one this morning by the lake."

"How did you escape?" Tauriel asked. She sounded flabbergasted. Emelia tried not to take offense.

"I drowned it in the lake."

"Really?" Legolas sounded even more astounded. "We should have left hours ago, Tauriel."

"Why?" Despite the fact that he wasn't speaking to her, Emelia's interest was piqued. "Where are you going?"

"Dol Guldur."

"Gesundheit."

"What?" Legolas was pacing again. It was making Emelia antsy.

"Nothing. What's Dal Gudan"

"Dol Guldur." Tauriel corrected her.

"Tauriel, you must hurry. If they're sending scouts, word of Smaug's death will have already spread." Legolas officially wasn't making any sense.

"I will go with you only after she is taken care of. That was the promise I made."

"There are human healers who can see to her."

"Mellon, please."

Even though Emelia knew they were talking about her, she felt like she was intruding. She turned her head so that she was looking at the ground. It was weird, to say the least, to be in the same room as them. The last time they had been together, Legolas' father had threatened her. She hadn't forgotten that little fact. That family wasn't so hot in her book, to say the very least.

"I will speak to Bard. He intends to leave for Dale tomorrow. He needs to know there might be scouts in his path." Legolas paused for a moment. "I am sorry I left you in Lake-town, Emelia."

"Not the best apology, considering you left me to a dragon, but I'll take it." Emelia said. She thought me might have laughed. She stopped paying attention, feeling the exhaustion creeping over her to the point that she almost couldn't fight it.

"Thank you." Tauriel said, letting out a small breath. She sounded relieved. Emelia peeked at her from under her arm. The tent flap rustled, indicating to Emelia that they were alone. He was gone for a moment and came back with a little bit of water and set it at Tauriel's side before he left once again. It was a little disappointing to her that she would have to wait to punch him. She supposed it would be better if she had her full strength. It would mean a little more, have a little more bite. "He is not unkind."

"If you say so."

"I have been his friend for many years." Emelia tried to roll over to look at her, but Tauriel stopped her with strong hands. "He is simply impatient. We have been waiting for you all day."

"Why?"

"He wished to go to Dol Guldur hours again, but I promised to stay here until you came back so that I could heal you."

"Let me guess, Kili and Fili?"

"They are very stubborn." Tauriel said with a tinkling laugh. It was so pretty it hurt Emelia's ears.

"Do you know why they left?"

"They needed to be with their kin." Tauriel opened something, instantly filling the tent with a foul smell. "Their other kin."

"They didn't even know if I was alive and they left?"

"Kili did not have any doubts. It is why I am still here."

"Still kind of shitty." Emelia said, covering her nose with her hands. "I feel like a puppy at the pound."

"I do not understand."

"Did they say anything?" Emelia asked, completely disregarding Tauriel's last comment. She didn't want to explain.

"No." She poured water on her back. "They simply wished for you to come join them, when able."

"That's perfect, because you know me and my navigational skills can get me to Erebor. Also, my survival skills are on point. It should be super easy and not at all problematic for me to get there. Easy peasy." Tauriel laughed again. Emelia glared at her the ground. "I wasn't being funny."

"You are exactly as he described."

"Who?"

"Kili. He told me quite a bit about you while he was in the dungeons." Tauriel wiped her back, making her wince. "I never really believed you when you claimed to be their captive."

"What did he say?" Emelia asked, vain interest rearing its head.

"He made his fondness clear."

His fondness. Apparently his fondness didn't extend enough to wait for her to come back. Dwarves must have different ways of expressing those sorts of things. Still, Kili was fond of her.

"I think I will need to sew this." Reality came rushing back, pulling her back down to earth. She remembered quite vividly the last time she had been stitched up. It wasn't pleasant.

"Let's get this over with." Emelia sighed, pulling the sleeve of her shirt down so she could bite it. "Might as well get the matching set."

Even though she was doing her best to be rational about the whole ordeal, Emelia still screamed when the needle pierced her skin for the first time. There was no alcohol to numb the pain this time around, making her feel like she was being stabbed repeatedly by little sword wielding gremlins. She bit her shirt sleeve so hard it ripped and she thought she could taste blood in her mouth. Just like the first time she passed out after a moment, arms and neck going limp after she clenched them so hard to keep from reaching out and slapping Tauriel out of reflex.

Cool cool. So originally, this was from Kili's perspective. I decided I needed to do a bit more with Emelia, however. I think it will be a bit more interesting to find out what happened with the dwarves along side Emelia, rather than show it twice. Also, in the next couple of chapters we're going to get some flashbacks to the quest from Kili's perspective, so that's exciting. I have a lot of scenes I wrote but just never fit in, and found a place for them!

Poor Hiron and Galon. :( And yes, if it wasn't clear, their parents are dead. But i balanced it out with a little hint about how Emelia feels about Kili, so it wasn't too sad, I hope!

As always, thank you for the super fantastic reviews. You guys are way too nice. Just a heads up, I've officially decided how I'm going to end this story and the fates of all those involved.

REVIEW!