"When you said you had a plan to travel through to Lothlorien, I thought you meant you had a practical plan," Fain verbalised with an air of annoyance as he kept an ear to the door of the King's Chamber, honing his Dwarven genetics to listen for approaching footsteps.

Riley was working on filling the packs with non-perishable food, as instructed by Ori, and passing them onto Jessika to check and add other practical equipment. She was watching as knives, rope, flint, and various jars filled with unknown substances, amongst other bits and pieces were added. The process had been calming the acidic anxiety churning its way through Riley's chest, but Fain's comment had struck a nerve.

"Oh, our apologies for not having foreseen Shayla taking off by herself. Next time, we'll be sure to pass on that piece of advice, yeah?" Fain took his ear from the door to throw Riley a dark look. He opened his mouth to speak, but after a quick glance at his sister, he thought the better of it and placed his ear back on the wood.

After some moments of silence, Jessika turned to Riley and Ori, a softer look on her face than on her brothers.

"What Fain meant to say is there are some parts of our current strategy that are not ideal, and we will likely need to be very adaptable from this very point onwards. We want to be sure that Bilbo and yourself are up for the challenge." Jessika's voice was kind, but her words felt like ice underneath Riley's skin. She knew Jessika used the word 'challenge' to downplay the reality of the situation; that it was life and death. Challenge made it sound like she was playing a damn game of beer pong.

"I'll do whatever it takes to make sure Shayla is safe." Jessika eyed Riley closely, her gaze cutting straight to the heart of her. After having met Dis, she knew exactly where that look came from.

Riley could feel Jessika's unanswered question in the air.

Where would Shayla actually feel safe?

Jessika instead just nodded, as though she could feel exactly how hard that speculation was for Riley, but Riley knew it would need to come up sooner or later.

"Bilbo should be back soon. I don't imagine we will see much of our family until we need to leave, between the tournament and the security issues on the Eastern front. The sooner we leave, the better chance we have at catching up to Shayla, granted she continues in the right direction."

A silence hung once more in the air after Jessika's words, but Riley attempted to focus on the way she was packing the food. She couldn't consider the fact that their attempts may all be in vain.

The quiet was broken by Fain's even voice as he verbalised what he could hear.

"One set of footsteps approaching, quickly. Sounds like Bilbo. I hope you're almost finished packing, because we won't have much time now." Fain moved from the door and opened it suddenly, just as Bilbo turned the corner and rushed inside, carrying a range of weapons within his arms.

"It is done. Arathir should be asleep for several hours, sufficient time for us to cross into the shadow of the Mirkwood Forest."

"You're sure that there aren't any other outposts or guards that could see us, right? And that we will get through these tunnels without someone coming across us and getting suspicious?" Riley responded, feeling the anxiety prick at her skin.

"We cannot be sure, but we have done what we can to mitigate the risks. Miss Riley, I have brought you a secondary weapon, but make sure you collect your staff. That is the weapon with which you have trained with primarily and will be of great use to you." Bilbo moved to distribute the weapons amongst each of them, passing a blade around thirty centimetres long to Riley.

Riley bit down on her tongue, forcing another predictable sarcastic retort back into the depths of her chest. She needed their help, and this is what she wanted.

No, she thought bitterly as she stood and made her way further into the chamber. She didn't want this, but she needed to do it, nonetheless.

She walked into the bedroom that had been the closest thing to a safe haven she had had in months. The lamp and candles still burnt in the corner, by the discarded letter Shayla had left for her. Riley walked towards it, kneeling lightly to retrieve it. She winced, grinding her teeth, but refused to struggle with the pain. She knew she would need to tolerate this, and more, if they were to catch up to Shayla.

Scrunching the piece of paper, she shoved it into the deepest pocket of the coat Bilbo had stolen for her from their belongings. As soon as they found Shayla, Riley would ask her why the hell she thought she could leave with the barest of goodbyes.

Riley stood slowly and took the staff she knew would help her along the way. Her mind fell back to the moment Bofur and Bifur approached her with the intricately crafted weapon and walking aid within soft furs. Her heart had felt so full, for the first time in a long time, and now it felt like it was hollow inside her chest.

Tears welled at her eyes and she furiously scrubbed them away at the thought of who she would be leaving behind.

She had only just chastised Shayla for the way she was saying goodbye, but she knew she couldn't leave without saying anything at all. Bofur deserved to know that she didn't want to leave.

Riley moved to the desk and trawled through books until she found a blank page.

She wondered if this was exactly what Shayla had felt.

"Come, Miss Riley, we must move!" Bilbo called from the corridor, and Riley scrambled for a quill and the bottle of ink.

Bofur,

I'm sorry.

I had hoped I would have gotten more time with you.

Riley.

Riley left the piece of paper in the same place she had found Shayla's note, and she moved from the bedroom with a growing sense of dread.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year my lovelies! I hope your holidays are safe and joyful! Thank you for sticking with me this year (and through the years!), as weird as they have been recently. Writing and reading fanfiction has been one of the best facets of my life over the past nine years, and in particular during the last two, and I know many of you would feel the same way. I really appreciate the love left for these stories, and I appreciate each and every one of you!

Thanks again and keep safe xxxxx