The night was still young, midnight not far away. Halien was beginning to feel nauseous as things got more festive and drunken. She excused herself and went outside. Thorin didn't notice while he was talking to the Master of the kinds of wealth and gems and silks that could be made once more in the Halls of Erebor.
Halien decided to walk around the town for a bit, trying to clear her head. She wandered through the docks, walking along the plank walkways that wove through the buildings. As she walked, she sang softly to herself in the elvish language.
Sitting outside, Bard looked up at the sky, seeing the moon peeking through the misty cloud cover. He sighed, wishing that someone had listened to him. He stood to go back inside, but he heard someone singing in the silence. Everyone was at the estate, joining the festivities, so he did not think that anyone would be outside. He walked around, trying to find the source of the song. He turned a corner and saw Halien walking alone down the street.
"Halien?" he asked, coming up to her.
She turned and smiled. "Hello, Bard."
"What are you doing out? You should be with your husband and the others, celebrating." Bard said, a disappointed and angry tone in his voice.
"Bard…" Halien said, feeling the near venom in his voice. "Please, understand. Thorin needs to do this, for his people."
"But you do not!" Bard said, coming up to her and grabbing her hands in his. "It is too dangerous a task!"
Halien looked up at him. She was a young elf, not as tall as some her age back in the Woodland Realm, but Bard was taller than her by the same amount that she was taller than Thorin by. "Bard, I love Thorin and I would do anything for him. If he asked me to go with him, then I would, but he has asked me to stay here and remain safe."
Bard searched her face, then turned away. "Halien… I was afraid that you would go with them, that you would risk the babe..."
"Why?" she asked.
Bard turned and pulled her into his arms, holding her tight. "If you had gone with them, I would never have forgiven myself if you or the babe were hurt. You are with child and you should not risk your life and the life of your son to go on a quest that may end in failure and death. I wouldn't have let you go, Halien, I would have tried to stop you. It would've gone against all that I believe in to let you go into such peril."
Halien, much to her own surprise, hugged him back and smiled. He smelled like sandalwood and spices, much different than how Thorin smelled of musky leather and pipe smoke. She loved the scent of her husband, but the scent of Bard was surprisingly different and just as comforting. "Oh, Bard." She said softly, curious as to how close they seemed to be after only a day.
Bard held onto her for a moment until Halien pushed her hands onto his chest. He looked at her and said, "I've only known you for a day, but something about you makes my heart ache, my chest tighten, and my head spin. I do not know or understand what it is, but I cannot let you go and risk you never coming back. I want to figure out what it is that happens to me when I am around you. I can only do that if you remain here. If you had gone with them and died, I'd have never known what this feeling is..."
"When I was a little girl, a fire drake like Smaug came upon us while we were returning home from visiting a family friend. They had a vast amount of wealth in gold and other jewels, having struck lucky in a nearby mine, and the drake wished to claim it. My mother was severely injured when she tried to protect my brother and me- having been thrown against a tree. My father tried to save her, but he suffered the wrath of the dragon's fire and was severely injured as well. When my brother had been knocked aside and I took up my mother's sword and with the help of my magik, I redirected the fire back at the dragon and threw water at it to weaken it before I drove the blade in between its scales and into its heart. I slew the beast that day. My mother began to recover from the attack, but soon after, the Battle at Gundabad began and she fell in battle. My father returned, but I knew by the look in his eyes that my mother was gone forever. After she had died, my father had not brought her body back to have her buried in her favorite grove. There is nothing now, no grave, no way to hold her memory. Her sword was given to me and named Fenumë Dagnir- Dragon's Bane in the Common tongue- and I wish it had not been taken from me while the others and I were in Mirkwood. I was eighty years old when my mother died, but I know that she would be proud of me for going through with this. She would have understood that I had to do this."
Bard listened as she told him the story of her mother's death.
"Bard, when we first met, you saw I could wield fire in my palms. You heard me speak to you with my thoughts. If I go with them and we face the dragon, should it wake, I can use my magik to help my kin of dwarves to defeat the dragon." Halien said. "But I am staying here and I will protect myself and my child, I promise. Thorin wishes me to protect Laketown if they fail and the dragon comes for us." Halien smiled. It had only been a single day since they had met and it already seemed as if they had known each other for a lifetime. She reached up and kissed his cheek, then hugged him. "If the dragon wakes and Thorin cannot stop him within the mountain, I swear to you, Bard the Bowman, descendant of Girion, Lord of Dale, that I will help you fight the dragon. One way or another, that beast will fall and we will rebuild Dale, reclaim Erebor and renew the Northern trade, and all will be back to how it once was."
Halien touched his cheek and smiled. Bard put a hand to hers and looked at her. "Halien…"
Halien stood on her toes and kissed his forehead. "I will not go with them, Bard. I promised Thorin I would stay for the sake of our child and I will promise you that I will stay here with you and your people." She said, then turned to walk back to the estate. Before she rounded the corner, she looked back at him. "Bard, if Thorin and the others cannot defeat Smaug in the mountain, he will come after Laketown. I swear to you that we will fight to protect Laketown together. If the battle with the beast seems to be a lost cause, you will need to use the Black Arrow to bring down the beast. I treated the Black Arrow that day Dale fell, when Girion gave it to me, with water magik so when you pierce the dragon's hide, the water magik infused with the metal of the arrow will help extinguish the fire in his heart. You will not fail, Bard, I am sure of it. Everything will be alright."
Bard watched as she disappeared around the corner and he stood there, dumbfounded. Every bit of the elf maiden made his heart race, his head ache. She was beautiful, powerful, strong, brave, and he somehow knew that nothing he said would alter her choice and stop her from taking the path she knew she must take. Somehow he knew that her words were not empty, that she would make certain that all promises she and Thorin had made would be kept.
The festivities ended that night and the following morning, the Master had his servants ready the company, fitting them with tunics and cloaks and armor, gifting them with plenty of weapons, and gave them a boat to sail the rest of the way across the lake to the base of the mountain. Thorin had woken Halien up and told her it was time to go. She nodded and they were ready to leave within minutes. As they descended the steps of the Master's estate, Halien almost hoped that Bard would be there. She did not see him anywhere as the crowds cheered as they walked through the streets.
"You do know that we are one short," Bilbo said to Thorin. "Where's Bofur?"
"If he is not here, we leave him behind," Thorin said.
"We'll have to if we are to find the door before nightfall." Balin pointed out. "We can risk no more delays."
The company continued to the boat readied for them. They loaded themselves onto the small boat, but Thorin stopped Kili before he could get on.
"Not you," Thorin told him. "We must travel with speed and you will slow us down."
"What are you talking about? I'm coming with you." Kili said, thinking his uncle was joking with him.
"Not this time," Thorin told him, shaking his head. He knew that Kili wanted to come with them, but his injury was too severe and he was too weak to be able to make the rest of the journey.
Kili would not hear of it. "I'm going to be there when that door is opened." He insisted. "When we first look upon the Halls of our fathers, Thorin…"
"Kili," Thorin said, trying to make him understand. "Stay here. Rest. Join us when you're healed."
"I'll stay with the lad," Oin said. "My duty lies with the wounded."
Fili looked up at Thorin. "Uncle, we grew up on tales of the mountain, tales you told us! You cannot take that away from him!"
Kili shook his head. "Fili…"
"I will carry him if I must!" Fili said, begging his uncle.
"Fili, one day you will be king and you will understand," Thorin told him. "I cannot risk this quest for the sake of one dwarf. Not even my own kin."
Halien put a hand on Thorin's shoulder. "Fili, understand how hard it is for your uncle to leave your brother behind. We all want to be there when we find the door and it is opened, but Kili is hurt and I have done all that I can to heal him right now. Oin will take care of him- he has learned what I have taught him about healing well- so please, do not worry."
Fili looked at her and nodded, then looked at his brother. He stepped up off the boat, but Thorin stopped him.
"Fili, don't be a fool. You belong with the company."
"I belong with my brother." Fili retorted.
"Thorin, let him go. If he wishes to stay with Kili, then let him. It will mean you are short a few members of the company, but it will mean that Kili is well looked after and can join you sooner." Halien told him as he looked up at her.
He smiled and nodded. "Will you be alright here? I know that you wish to come with us, but you understand why I need you here?" he asked.
Halien nodded. "I am nearly six months along, but I still some time before the babe is ready. I will be alright, graceful and nimble as ever."
He put a hand on her belly, feeling the child growing within her womb. He felt a pain in his chest, but he looked up at her. "I need you safe. While you have been doing fine thus far, the path to the mountain is much more treacherous and rough since the day Erebor fell. I know that we could make use of your magik against the dragon, but I still need you here, safe, not just because I do not want you to get hurt and we risk losing our child, but I need you to look after Kili for me."
Halien knew he was right. She knew that Kili needed her more than they would need her on the mountain and Thorin was only thinking of what was best for her and their son. She nodded and kissed her husband.
"I will be just fine, little king. I will look after Kili and keep our son safe. If you need me, though, you have to but think it and I will know." She told him.
Thorin kissed her once more and nodded. "Of course. If things do not turn out as well as we hope, I will warn you. If the dragon awakens and comes for Laketown, I will warn you. If Smaug does come for the town, will you protect them until we can return?"
Halien hugged him tightly. "Of course, my love. Now, best be off before you lose the light."
Thorin nodded and boarded the boat, shoving off with one last look at Halien before she used her magik to whip up a current to take them quicker down the waterway.
