Chapter Forty-Five: Never Trust a Redheaded Woman

"Emelia?"

Emelia blinked rapidly, opening her eyes hesitantly. The darkness of Mirkwood surprised her for a moment, depressing her before she locked onto the pair of bodies on either side of her, pressed against her, smothering her with comfort despite everything. She pulled her knees up to her chest and looked sideways, smiling lazily at the dwarf to her right even though he had woken her up just as she was about to actually fall asleep.

Kili smirked at her and threw his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his side.

"You sleeping?"

"Not anymore." Emelia said, reaching her hand down to his side to poke him. "What's up?"

"What were you dreaming about?" He asked, wagging his eyebrows, although Emelia could barely see it in the dim light. They had decided to make a fire, even if it made the eyes in the underbrush, which Emelia assumed belonged to animals she didn't even want to think about identifying, worse and more terrifying. Early on in the night, or perhaps it was morning, Thorin had called them to a halt. He claimed it was for them to better rest and press on the next day, or night, but Emelia knew better. She had seen the look on his face, the dark look in his eyes whenever they lost their way. He didn't know where they were and they were almost entirely out of food. She felt bad for him, all of them, but she did not say so. Everybody already knew they were in a bad way and her saying so would just make it worse.

Bilbo stirred to her left and Emelia lowered her voice. "Fili. We were on the most romantic date."

"That isn't nice."

"I never said I was nice." She nudged him again, causing Bilbo to turn over so that he was facing away from the pair entirely. "Sorry, Bilbo."

He mumbled something, something that sounded distinctly annoyed, and scooted away from them and towards the dwindling fire. Emelia glanced around at the other dwarves and noticed that most of them were sleeping, except for Dwalin and Fili, who were both positioned on opposite sides of the tiny camp with weapons in their hands, staring out into the trees.

"I got something for you."

"Really, now?" Emelia turned so that she was facing him. It did not escape her notice that their faces were now inches away from each other. If they had more light she would be able to count the stubble on his face. Or maybe his eyelashes, although he seemed to have so many that would be hard to do. She was happy it was so dark so he couldn't see her blushing. He placed one hand down on the ground, next to her hip, and leaned forward. For a fleeting moment she thought he was going to kiss her.

A girlish giggle threatened to bubble up at the thought and she forced it down like she would with a particularly obnoxious burp.

And now she was thinking of burping.

"What?"

"Nothing." She said it too quickly and far too loudly. She glanced at the other dwarves and winced when she noticed a few of them turning in their spots. A few of them groaned and Emelia bent her head down, chuckling to herself. Kili covered her mouth with his hand and shushed her, looking around at the others as well. She nodded, quelling her laughter while simultaneously trying not to show her excitement at their proximity. When he was certain she wasn't about to start laughing again, he removed his hand.

"You can't tell anybody." He said, leaning forward so that he could give her a very serious look. "Bofur least of all."

Emelia nodded and scooched closer, holding her hands in her lap. "I pinky promise."

"What?"

"Pinky promise." She repeated, holding out her left pinky. He stared at it, eyebrows furrowed before he hesitantly wrapped his own pinky around hers. She had noticed, during all the months she had been with them, that dwarves hands were not shaped like hers. They were squat, and strong, and covered in callouses and scars. Kili's pinky practically swallowed hers whole. Her fingers twitched and she pulled their hands closer to her chest ever so slightly. He seemed very confused for a moment before she hooked their fingers together and squeezed.

"You're quite strange, Miss Emelia Kinsington Montgomery."

Emelia stuck her tongue out at him and had to fight the laughter once again when he did the same. Looking down and noticing their pinkies were still hooked, she pulled her hand back, looking away from him and towards the trees.

"Do you think these trees have ever seen sunlight?" She asked, sitting back so that she could lean on her hands. He followed her gaze, a thoughtful look on his face that seemed eerie in the dim yellow light from the fire.

"Maybe."

"That's sort of sad, don't you think?" She mused, tilting her head sideways. There was one set of eyes she kept being drawn back to. They glowed like lanterns, large and saucer-like. They didn't seem particularly malicious, or threatening, and for a brief moment she had the desire to go and see what sort of thing they belonged to. She wondered if the owner of those eyes had ever seen the sun and what sort of sad existence it must have had if that wasn't the case. Maybe they would end up like those eyes, stuck in the massive amounts of trees until they either starved or forgot what the sun looked like entirely. Maybe the eyes belonged to people who had come before them and had died, their souls stuck where they were because no one had ever found them.

Emelia shook her head and turned back to look at Kili, realizing that she was depressing herself. "You said you had something for me?"

"I always knew you only talked to me because of the presents I gave you."

"You have literally never given me anything."

"Well, if I had known you were so greedy…"

"Shut up." She elbowed him, earning a loud chuckle and a very pointed glare from Dwalin over his shoulder. Emelia made a face at him, which caused yet another over the top eye roll. He shrugged his shoulders, his body giving physical signs of his mental annoyance at the two, and turned back away from them.

"It's not really a gift. But more of a shared experience, or something like that. You'll probably not like it very much but…"

"Kee."

"Remember, you can't tell anyone. I'm trusting you with this, Emelia."

"That's probably a bad idea."

"Em?"

"Yea?"

He placed something cold in her hands and for a moment her mind went to the gutter. She looked down and instantly relaxed when she saw a small, intricately carved pipe balanced on her palm. A pipe. And here she thought he was about to give her the keys to Erebor or something equally important. "What's this?"

"A pipe." He said it as if she were dim. She pursed her lips.

"Really, so that's what these look like?"

"Yes, although they come in many diff…" He trailed off, seeing the mocking look on her face. "You're not being serious."

Emelia snorted and nodded, holding out the pipe in front of her face so that she could get a better look at it. It was delicate, as far as these sorts of things were concerned, and covered in runes that she assumed meant something to someone. "What do these mean?" She asked, pointing to the long inscription that ran up the length of the stem.

"It's an old dwarvish traveler's warning." Kili said, taking the pipe from her and turning it over. He pulled a little pouch out from his breast pocket and set it on his knee, fumbling with the straps with one hand while pointing to the inscription on the pipe with the other. Emelia watched him struggle for a moment before she grabbed it from him and pulled on the worn leather straps. "It roughly translates to 'Never Trust a Redheaded Woman'."

She stifled her laugh in her shoulder again and almost dropped the pouch. It was truly amazing none of the dwarves had woken up, but she supposed they were tired enough to sleep through their shenanigans. Technically, she and Kili should be sleeping too, but obviously he had other plans.

"What does it really mean?" She asked, handing him the open pouch. He licked his fingers and reached in, pulling out a stringy wad of something that reminded her of tobacco. It wasn't quite the same, however, and didn't smell nearly as foul. He pressed it into the end of the pipe and mashed it a bit before grabbing a small stick from the fire and using it to light the end. He took a deep drag and blew the smoke out towards the trees, smiling contentedly to himself for a moment before he extended the pipe to her.

"You have to try it before I can tell you." He said simply.

She took it hesitantly, eyeing the slightly smoldering end with apprehension. "My parents wouldn't approve."

Of course, she remembered quite suddenly, that they weren't there to tell her otherwise. Emelia had seen the dwarves smoking pipes on and off throughout the entirety of their journey but she had never given much thought to trying it herself. She brought the pipe up to close to her face and took a whiff of the end, testing the smell for a moment before she decided to be spontaneous and smoke a little for herself. What more harm could be done to her, really?

"You promise you'll tell me what it means?" She asked, moving the pipe up to her mouth. She blushed and couldn't hide her smile when he held out his pinky in front of her.

Always so endearing, that one.

Smoking, as her mother always warned her, was neither invigorating nor glamorous. She took one tiny drag and promptly started coughing violently, splurting out smoke from both her nose and mouth. She shoved the pipe into his hands and covered her mouth, wheezing and gagging. Her eyes watered, causing her to blink rapidly to prevent any actual leakage. He saw the look on her face and laughed out loud, taking the pipe from her before she dropped it on the forest floor. She glowered at him, coughs petering off pathetically. A few of the dwarves let out noises that sounded like they were waking up, but Emelia didn't pay any attention to them.

"You asshole!" She said, shoving his arm off when he tried to pull her closer to him by the shoulders. "You did that on purpose!"

"Of course." He bypassed her arms and wrapped her in a tight hug, causing her to cough again.

She tried to shove him off for a moment before she gave up and allowed herself to enjoy the hug. She tried to prevent herself from sighing contentedly, although she didn't do a very good job. Kili's right hand trailed down a little bit and squeezed her shoulder.

"You have to tell me what the pipe says. After that little stunt, you're contractually obligated."

"Of course." He whispered in her ear. His breath was hot and Emelia had to fight yet another shiver.

She was so embarrassing.

"Normally, we do not speak our language to outsiders." Kili said slowly, allowing her to sit back, although not so far that he wasn't still tapping his fingers along her shoulder blade. "Khuzdul is private and meant for kin only."

"And you're going to tell me?" Emelia asked, cautiously. Perhaps he didn't realize the implications of him teaching her a few phrases of their language. Or perhaps, he did and he was simply being his overly charming self once again and she simply didn't know how to handle it.

He nodded, seeming to notice the amazed look on her face. "Do you not want to know?"

"Of course I do!" He covered her mouth when she accidentally shouted, looking around at the other dwarves quickly. "Sorry, I'm just really excited."

He stared at her for a moment, an odd look on his face. She blinked, and leaned back slightly, confused as to is she had said the wrong thing. Maybe she wasn't supposed to be excited that he was breaking the rule. His fingers paused on her shoulder for a fraction of a second before continuing their rhythmic repetitive action. He had taken on a look that she couldn't describe and it made her nervous.

"Kili son of Mirwi, ai-menu Duzhuk."

She tried to respond but was too busy trying to process how it was possible for her not to understand a single word of what he had just said while simultaneously being unable to comprehend his undeniable sexiness.

He did that on purpose, she was absolutely convinced.

Realizing she was staring, she shook her head and managed to cobble together a question. "What does that mean?"

"Kili son of Mirwi, 'at your service'. Ai-menu Duzhuk."

"Ai-menu Duzhuk." She repeated, feeling like he was picking her pronunciation apart. "Is that right? Emelia Kinsington Montgomery, ai-menu Duzhuk." He nodded, smiling wider than she had ever seen. "Is that what the pipe says?"

"Emelia Kinsington Montgomery, at your service?"

"No, you cheeky bastard." Emelia hissed, smirking at him.

"Binazrâm hu tada taglibi 'aimu-galikh kuthu tharkh tadishi." Kili said simply. "Apparently, my father said it to my mother the first time they met."

"And?"

"Faithless is he who says farewell when the road darkens."

"That's so romantic. I bet your mother totally got butterflies." She said, her voice taking on a whimsical and airy tone that she normally liked she avoid. She immediately cleared her throat and lowered her tone pitch a few octaves, fighting to keep the look of girlish charm off her face. She would save that for later, when he wasn't looking, and she could silently freak out on her own at the wonderfulness of it all.

"Actually I think they quite despised each other when they first met."

"Interesting." Emelia said, not realizing the way he was looking at her.

"Yes, it is. A bit familiar."

"The pipe was his?" Emelia, taking it back from Kili so that she could look at it better while simultaneously steering the conversation away from awkward territory. She felt like he was sharing something with her that she didn't quite deserve yet but she didn't comment on it.

"And the pipeweed was Bofur's." He said, watching her as she turned the pipe over in her hand. "Nicked it when he wasn't looking. Thought you might like to try it."

"Why?" She asked. He put the pipe back to his lips and blew out a shaky smoke ring. Emelia had never expressed an interest in smoking before so she wondered where he had gotten the wild idea that she might like to try it. "I mean, it was very sweet," His face scrunched up at the idea that he was in some way 'sweet', but he did not say anything and allowed her to continue. "But, it seems a bit random."

"You were upset recently by what happened with the orcs and Fili." Kili set the pipe to the side and used both his hands to grab her by the shoulders. "And I thought it might make you smile."

"You make me smile regardless." She said, without really thinking it through. "I mean, you all do because you're my friends. Friends make each other smile. Friends, that is what we are."

"Khuzsh."

"Khuzsh." She repeated, although she didn't know what she was saying. "Did I just insult somebody's mother or something, because that would just be mean?"

"It means 'friend'."

"Now you're just being cute for the sake of being cute."

"Of course."

"We should go to sleep you know."

He nodded in agreement, fingers leaving her shoulder to grab a piece of her newly chopped off hair. He held it in front of her face, smirking. "Baraz."

"Red?" She smiled, laying down next to him and looking up at the canopy of black trees. "Baraz. I'm barazable. Barazzie."

"I think you really should go to sleep now." He laid back down as well. They were silent for a moment before he chuckled, the sound deep and rumbling. "Barazzie."

"Shut up."

"How about both of you give it a go and give the rest of us some peace and quiet?" Gloin's voice cut across the silence of the camp. "Amahi karâth masarranul."

Neither of them even tried to fight their laughter at that point.

Emelia felt no shame in choosing to think about Kili during the long walk to Dale. Or what was left of Dale. From what she had been told by some of the chattier Lake-town citizens, there wasn't anything left but fractured buildings and corpses that were long ago turned to ash.

It was a miserable image and the sort of place she would walk in the exact opposite direction of. They didn't ask her opinion on the matter, however, and she didn't see fit to offer it when she saw no other option, so she kept her mouth shut and her head down.

She wasn't quite sure how to pinpoint her mood, although she knew she was exceptionally unhappy. It was not the lack of food that soured her, nor the cold, although both were bothersome enough in their own right. It wasn't even the fact that when she had woken up in the morning both Tauriel and Legolas had been gone. She had surprised herself by being upset by the former and a bit happy about the later. Petty, granted, but she still hadn't quite forgotten about the whole dragon thing.

And now that she had time to ruminate about it, it annoyed her even more. Tauriel had left without saying anything and that chapped Emelia simply because it felt like the millionth time someone had done it to her.

Besides all of that, her back hurt like hell.

Emelia supposed her mood was depressed by the simple fact that, while they were getting closer to Erebor with each step they took, she had never felt so far away.

Cue the sad montage music. She rolled her eyes at her own pity party.

She pulled the large coat she had been given around her shoulders a little tighter and jogged to catch up with Bard and his small family. Sigrid was holding Hiron and Galon had taken up residence on Bain's back. He was currently pulling the older boys hair and a lackadaisically sort of way that made Emelia's chest hurt.

Bard told her that they had been told about their parents while she was still asleep. Part of her wished that she had been able to be the one to do, but another part, the much stronger part, was thankful that she wasn't there to witness it.

She felt heartless and cold for that thought.

It is part of the reason she chose to focus on Kili. Although, if she was being honest, it was because she missed him. She missed his stupidly handsome face and his stupidly charming self. She thought of that moment in Mirkwood often, but now it brought her an amount of comfort it hadn't before. The pipe smoking had been wretched and she swore to herself that she would never do it again, but it was so perfectly relaxed, whether he intended it to be or not, and she wanted it back.

"What's going on in that head of yours, Emelia?" Bard glanced down at her, switching his shoulder pack to his other side. He was very tall, she realized. She didn't know how she felt about that. She had almost forgotten what it was like to be around such tall people and felt as if they all dwarfed her.

She smirked to herself. Dwarfed. She scoffed at her own horrible sense of humor and looked up at Bard, deciding how to answer. The truth was probably best, but the truth in this instance was private and she, as much as she liked Bard, didn't want to share it with him.

"Nothing."

He eyed her for a moment, seeming to realize that she was keeping something back. "You've been quiet." He observed and she thought he might elaborate for a moment. When she didn't she looked forward towards the hill they were climbing. Her calf muscles were already burning, but she tried not to focus on it. They had large amount of climbing left and it wouldn't do any good to start whining about it.

"I'm just taking it all in."

"There isn't much of worth to see."

"There's Erebor." Emelia pointed out, gesturing to the large mountain looming in the background ominously.

"You are of man in birth, but you are dwarvish in nature."

"That's a compliment, even though you probably meant it as an insult."

"I have no reason to insult you."

"Because we're cousins." Emelia said, smirking up at him.

"Because we're cousins." He answered back, laughing ever so slightly.

"How long until we reach Dale?" She asked, scuffing her boots on the ground with each step. She knew she was putting her feet through more abuse than they deserved by continuing to wear them, but she couldn't give them up, not just yet.

"If we continue at this pace, we will reach before nightfall." Bard sidestepped a large boulder and looked back to make sure the long throng of people were still managing. They were moving slow, almost glacially, and were weighed down by the sick and injured.

"And from there?" Emelia did not want to point out their lack of food, especially when she knew he was so well aware of it, but the unspoken reality hung over them like a poltergeist, sitting on their backs and weighing them all down as they climbed closer and higher towards the ruins.

"I will speak to Thorin."

"What'll you ask for?"

"The gold to rebuild our homes and our lives."

"I'm assuming you're planning on taking me with you." Emelia did not phrase it as a question because it was not intended as one. While she knew she technically didn't have the authority to demand such a thing, although there was something about the sudden rule Bard seemed to have inherited that made it seem like she could. He was reasonable, she thought, and not the sort of person to ignore an advantage when it was placed in front of him.

"I had not planned on it, no."

Apparently he wasn't as reasonable as she thought.

"Well you should plan on it." She said, the very idea of him leaving her out making her blood boil. "Please." She added as an afterthought, realizing she was probably being obnoxiously rude without reason.

"I am curious about your purpose."

"Selfish and self-serving. Like a villain." She twisted her nonexistent mustache and laughed at the look on his face. "Seriously, Bard, I know them better than you could ever hope to. I can help you. And them."

"You think he would take your advice?"

"No."

"Then what reason would you have to be there?"

"I feel like you probably know the answer to that without even asking."

"I find the loyalty you have to them peculiar and unnerving, but commendable."

"You know, you keep saying one thing, but I'm pretty sure you mean the exact opposite." She kicked a nearby rock as she said that and regretted it instantly. It made the bruises on her feet flare and throb.

"Dwarves are not known for thinking of others above themselves. After everything you have done, I don't want to see you get hurt."

"They wouldn…"

"Emelia, I know you think higher of them than anyone, but you must think realistically. Smaug is dead and that mountain lays claimed by only a group of thirteen dwarves and a Halfling. Others will come and Thorin will do everything in his power to make sure that mountain remains his and his alone. He will not think of the people he thinks are beneath him."

"It does belong to them, though."

"They've kept too much from you."

"I don't like what you're implying, Bard."

"I'm not implying anything. I'm stating it as plain as possible. That gold does not belong to them alone."

"You sound like the Master." She meant it as the insult it came across as.

Bard ignored that and stepped closer to her, leaning down so that they wouldn't be overheard. "How do you think they amassed such a fortune in the first place? Why do you think Smaug was drawn to Erebor above all else?"

Emelia glanced backwards and saw Bard's children and the twins watching the two of them closely. Alfrid, who up until this point had been content to hover behind them, eavesdropping on everything they said, had moved a little closer in order to hear them better. Emelia shot him a nasty look, which he returned, before she turned back to look at Bard.

"They aren't like that."

"Greed turns even the most honorable of men into monsters. You shouldn't forget that."

Cool cool. So normally, I don't like to include such huge flashbacks, but I thought the scene with Emelia and Kili was pretty crucial (I think you can all see why ;)) I also thought it would be nice to see because it has been a while without the dwarves and I miss them too! But unfortunately, in order to stay true to the plan I have for this, it's a lot of Emelia time right now. Which is good because the way she is developing means she is ready to address the feelings she has for Kili, whereas before I think she would have been much more likely to want to push it aside to avoid embarrassment. But seriously, how cute are Kili and Emelia? What should their ship name be, btw?

Kimelia? Emili?

Anyway, in case you were wondering, what Gloin says is equivalent to saying that they are wasting all their time talking.

Also, Bard is kind of being a dick, pardon the language, but what he says is pretty important for what he does later involving exploiting Emelia and her position with the dwarves. Next chapter will be from Bard, Kili's, and Emelia's perspective and it's the last one where they will be separated. YAY!

The reviews on the last chapter were amazing! THANK YOU! Please, please, please keep it up!