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Life will pause at the most discrepant of times. The conscientious mind regains control, if only but a temporary moment for a fading glimpse of what was once lost.
Thorin stayed on the lookout with Éla for some time. He'd forgotten how her presence had calmed him during the past few weeks. A sense of tranquility surrounded her very being, soothing his worries and doubt etched within his disconsolate heart. The mere thought of the dragon-sickness plaguing her mind riddled him with a trace of guilt so slight, he almost believed it a cause of his distant distillation.
He simply fooled himself.
Éla wasn't concerned about being replaced; she didn't want to see him fall to a mental illness. However, that was becoming more prominent as the days went by. It was a whirlwind of emotion when he was sobered around her. Only then, was he truly himself. As hard as he attempted reassurance, every attempt faltered the more he spent searching for his lost jewel. She was aware of it.
"Smaug is dead and the mountain is once again ours." Thorin broke the silence. Éla caught the slight twitch in his features. He was confident. "We no longer have to live in fear and exile."
She eyed him cautiously. With their main threat gone, all that stood between them was a barricaded entrance and an army of bodies between Dale and the Mountain. "What of the elves and men? When the raven spoke of the bowman Bard, I spoke with him before our departure. He's a grim man, but I feel he can be trusted. Will you not make peace?"
The request left a bitter feeling coarse through him. "That will depend on their motives for coming armed to my door."
His attention diverted to the path leading up towards the mountain. Éla looked beyond the stone stumps to a slightly larger party approaching the elevation. They carried with them banners representing the Elvenking and the town of the Lake. Some were even armed with bows and arrows. The quest had taken a ruthless turn which made Éla cringe at the thought of war.
"Hail Thorin!"
A man approached the forefront of the advanced party. A quiver of arrows was slung over his back and he gripped his bow firmly in his hand. Éla caught sight of the dark-haired man and immediately knew who it was.
"Why do you barricade yourself when all is rejoiced? We are not yet foes. There is a matter of parley and a council upon seeing you alive, in which we came onto the belief that there would be none dwelling here."
"Who are you and what is it that you want?" Thorin hollered down.
The man scanned the dwarven outpost as more members filed into view. Éla looked over her shoulder to see Balin, Dwalin, and Fili step outside. Bilbo and Kili remained at the door. They had heard the commotion and kept a good distance from Thorin, who was appearing more livid with every second that passed.
"I am Bard, heir of Girion of Dale, and the dragon had been slain by my hand." He called back. "Our home is destroyed and many have lost their lives and much more. We have aided you when you needed it, and now we kindly ask whether there is any sorrow for some form of compensation."
Thorin gritted his teeth. The treasure didn't belong nor concerned them and he wouldn't pursue the topic any further. "Do not think that I will parley with armed men at my door. Nor will you receive anything while in the company of the Elvenking, whose folk have no place here. If you wish to speak, dismiss the elves and lay down your arms."
"The Elvenking is my friend and has aided the people of the Lake in their time of need." Bard replied. "I ask you to consider all aspects of these dire circumstances. Until we meet again!"
Éla waited until the banners were no longer visible and her face numb from the wind before she went inside. She held more sympathy for Esgaroth than the others cared to admit. The town's hospitality continued to play in her head during their time there. The more she pictured a dead dragon crashed over the wooden buildings and docks, the more it began to upset her. That fate had already been bestowed upon them. The price for their freedom within the mountain only cost the lives and home of another. It was all too real, just like the attack on Erebor a lifetime ago. So, Éla made a decision and walked past the company's nervous stares by a fire to find Thorin.
Despite the labyrinth of walkways leading away from the Front Gate, she knew exactly where to find the dwarf king.
Fili scraped the edge of his second sword with a rock one final time. Small sparks lit upon contact for half a second, then disappeared into the fire. The young prince stared into the flames a moment longer before setting the rock aside and getting to his feet. His movements always caught the attention of Kili, to which the younger looked up at his brother in confusion.
"Where are you going?"
Fili sheathed his weapons securely to his back. It became protocol to remain armed when wandering anywhere but that little room the dwarves occupied. "Outside."
When Fili met his brother's glare, the younger noticed something was off before he turned to walk towards the ridged doorway.
"I'll join you."
They left the warm comfort of the fire and company in exchange for brisk solitude that surrounded them more and more. The wind carried faint traces of song from the camps below. The two dwarves sulked as frowns donned their faces for the longing to join the merry atmosphere. They wanted nothing more than to see their people reunited, and of course their mother to tell of the grand adventure.
Fili recently started to worry over Thorin's sanity. His uncle's actions have become somewhat irrational, also assuming the strain it's put on his relationship with everyone.
"Hey, Fili?" Kili's voice was just above a whisper.
"Hmm?"
"Have you ever wondered what it would be like if our roles were reversed? If I was the older brother?"
Fili blinked in surprise, facing the younger dwarf gazing up into the overcast sky. "It's hard to imagine having grown up with you. Why do you ask?"
"No reason."
As the thought deterred from his own mind, Kili decidedly turned to him. "I've always been the youngest in our family. With so many changes these past few months, I've always wondered what it'd be like to be an older brother."
Fili smirked reluctantly and clasped a hand on his shoulder. "If our father was still alive, you might have had a chance."
"Who said anything about father?"
Kili's eyes sparked alive with such determination it was becoming unnatural. Fili shook his head slowly in realization to his younger brother's thought process. "Kili, no."
"What?"
"I know where you're getting at. No."
Kili faced him head on, grabbing Fili by the shoulders to share his enthusiasm. "Just think; a younger cousin that would look up to us! When the mountain's restored, it'll be new beginnings! Who's not to say there won't be a little one-"
"Mother said Thorin never wanted kids. We're his heirs." Fili sighed after seeing his brother's change of emotion. "Even if he did, it's too late."
"C'mon Fee. Haven't you noticed? Éla's been acting strange since we left. You can't pretend-" Kili protested but was cut short by common logic.
"-but who hasn't? You're getting way in over your head. We don't even know if they'd want children."
It was a good point to consider. Normalcy ceased to exist for the company. Kili playfully elbowed his brother in the side as they were ready to leave their post to seek warmer shelter. "You're afraid, aren't you?"
"What could I possibly be afraid of?" Fili mimicked the action.
"Losing your place as Uncle's heir."
"No, that's not –" Fili glared at him with wide eyes, all fun set aside as he became more serious regarding their discussion. "I think the thought of children terrifies him."
Kili hung on his brother's last words as if the breath was sucked out of him. "That makes no sense," he spoke slowly, "he practically raised us."
"Yes, but Thorin wasn't our father. He tried to be that figure, yet didn't quite know how to show that kind of affection. That's why mother was more relieved in knowing we had each other after father's death."
"How do you know?" Kili's brow scrunched in confusion, trying to remember such information relayed to them in the past.
"She told me once when Thorin wasn't around."
"Why didn't she tell me?"
Fili laughed lightly. "You never asked."
Silence bore down on them while reminiscing over their quiet life in the Blue Mountains. Kili picked at the handle of his sword uninterested until he spotted movement in the distance. He sensed the elves and men would return again. The mountain brought nothing but gloom and dread to their hearts. The young dwarves wished nothing more than to regain days of happiness and fun.
"Do you think Thorin will fall to the dragon-sickness like in the tales?" Kili asked quietly.
Fili took in a slow breath, buying time to conjure an answer that would neither be fact nor exaggerated. "I would hope not, at least not while Éla's with him. It's hard to say, Kili. He seems to be more distraught over the camps in the valley."
From the long road leading out from Dale, Fili and Kili narrowed their gaze into the distance to visually confirm another approach of the small party with banners waving in the wind. They stood on guard until the blue and green flags were visible in its entirety before heading inside.
"Come on, we best get Uncle." Fili stated, Kili following suit.
When Éla reached the room full of treasure, she had expected to find Thorin among the mounds of gold yet he was nowhere in sight. "Where else could he have gone?"
She walked down a few steps so the expanse opened to her fully, but there was no one. With a sunken heart and disappointment sprawling over her face, Éla took a seat near the entrance slightly hidden by the shadow of a columned pillar. She wrapped her cloak closer to her body from the chilled air as she settled comfortably on the stone tiles.
It was no wonder dwarves fell to such weak mentality; Éla soon found herself drawn to the occasional twinkle of gold and jewels as she scanned the area to pass time. Crafting such beauty led to obsession. She scolded herself for wanting to pick and keep a few select items, reminding that it was not hers to take. There has been too much taken for granted over the years.
The day weighed heavily on her. For one reason or another, she could not explain the fretting twist of her soul that had no intent of going away. As the hour continued onward with no sign of the one she sought, Éla slowly drifted into slumber.
Meanwhile, the dwarves had been momentarily preoccupied with their visitors outside the gate. Thorin hadn't been far from the area, wandering adjacent corridors lost in his own thoughts. Their situation had taken a turn for the worst when Fili and Kili found him returning to the hall.
The dwarves gathered on the outpost as a horn was blown, addressing the King under the Mountain. One messenger restated the bowman's previous offering hours earlier, and Thorin remained cold as stone.
"Kili, give me your bow."
The young prince whipped his head, an anxious plea crossing his face as Thorin kept his eye on the party below. Kili handed the bow into his outstretched hand, looking around for some form of guidance. Never should he defy his uncle, so he offered an arrow as well with nodding approval from the older members.
"If you would have friendship and honor of the lands-" The speaker refrained another word as an arrow suddenly flew through the air, straight into his shield within seconds. He huffed an exaggerate breath, observing the quivering arrow embedded into the wood. "Since that is your answer, the Mountain shall be declared besieged! We will not bare weapons against you and no one will exit unless you call for a truce and parley yourselves!"
The party left the dwarves to their mountain with haste, not wanting further weapons fired upon them. Thorin handed the bow back to its rightful owner and stomped inside. He paused in the center of the room, mentally drawing up a plan of action to which he decided on one solution.
The dwarves and Bilbo waited in anticipation. Thorin spun around with growing anger and irritability, addressing them head-on. "Most of us shall head back to the treasure, sort and pile it. I'd like to see that room cleared and accessible for maneuvering. We'll keep one person on guard up here and rotate through the night."
Most seemed to have shared this option as there was nothing better to occupy their time. So it was decided and they made way for the gold, leaving Balin and Bilbo on watch. While they liked the idea of something to do rather than sit around, Fili and Kili silently protested the idea with poor Bombur grumbling behind about walking distances. Bofur swatted him with a hand to keep quiet as they trekked down the hollow corridors.
In no time they arrived and filed down gold-trimmed steps. Dwalin was last, stopping to look at his life-long friend who oversaw them get to work. The warrior opened his mouth to speak but ceased as he peered over Thorin's shoulder to distinguish what had caught his attention. Thorin turned without a word, staring at the door. To both their amazement, there sat Éla on the ground with her knees tucked to her chest fast asleep.
"She must have been waiting." Dwalin said in a hushed tone.
"I'll take her back."
Dwalin nodded and left Thorin to pick up the female dwarf in his arms, careful not to wake her in the process. He kept a brisk pace, wanting to return to the others as soon as possible. The weight from his boots and armor echoed down the hallways, rebounding off walls. Every now and again he'd look down to see her unstirred from slumber and exhaled in relief.
Every day was all the same. Each time he set his sight on her, it brought him down with guilt and inner turmoil. Thorin hoped she would understand his reasoning one day.
After all, he tried to admit that he was doing this for her: his family, his people.
Bilbo looked up from the mesmerizing flames of the fire when Thorin appeared around the corner with Éla in his arms. He watched as she was eased on a bedroll close to the fire in one breathless motion. He also watched the dwarf king exit without uttering a single phrase. Minutes passed when the Hobbit noticed the female shift.
The heat radiated from the flames, warming her skin a little too much. Éla opened her eyes only to face a blinding light. Pushing herself up, she searched her surroundings confused and noticed Bilbo staring directly at her across the fire.
"How did I get here?" She asked.
"Thorin."
His demeanor was grim and taut. It was enough to hint that something was wrong. Éla crossed her legs to face the low flames.
"Did anything happen?" She was careful in choosing her words.
Bilbo lowered his head so he gazed into his lap. Soft curls shadowed his eyes from view. There was a great deal that bothered him, one in particular that could not be shared even among close friendships. Bilbo took some comfort knowing the two were troubled, and that the same person was responsible.
So here they were, unable to get away from a condemned madness that loomed outside the mountain's walls. A darkness overshadowed them all from within. Bilbo believed there would be no hope if the dire situation took a wicked turn in the days to follow.
I caught a short glimpse of the extended edition of The Hobbit, and it turns out that I have something in my earlier chapter about Nori clarified in actual video footage. I won't say so as to not spoil it for others, but I've been grinning like mad ever since.
Things slowed down enough for me to have a breather and work on impending, emotional trauma for you guys. Will we get a happy ending? You'll know soon enough.