The second-half of ch34 has been edited.
Éla instantly regretted leaving the protective barrier of the mountain from the voiceless cry of the wind. The brisk temperature left each breath hanging in the air like white crystals as she carefully navigated down the rough slope of the gateway. She walked along the center of the path to avoid suspicious eyes assuming her a foe. The cleverness of the elves would see to it that there were watchers placed around their camp and beyond.
There was no rush to arrive at her destination, so Éla took time to calm herself and bury all ill traces of thought to the back of her mind. She did not want to think about Thorin, only the small creature he had more or less deceived. As she reached the stream which intersected her path, eyes darted to the sky as the fluttering of wings swooped low above her head before turning east. The dark raven flew into the distance until it was no more than a black spec in the sky. Thorin has probably sent word to Dain again.
Éla returned her attention to the shallow water and crossed. Her boots weighed down against the current, splashing with each stride. It required little work to maneuver. As she made it to the other side, the trees began to rustle. There were large rocks on this side, mostly debris from the city and its surrounding desolation. Éla stopped in her tracks and listened. As the wind passed, the rustling died down, leaving her in a state of tranquility. She knew she had been followed, and she most definitely wanted to be found.
"I pose no threat." She spoke loud and clear to anyone nearby. "I've come unarmed and wish to speak with the wizard."
Three elves came into view with their weapons drawn. They surveyed her with a notion of treason.
"What business is it of yours that's so important to leave your Mountain?" One asked shrewdly.
Éla righted herself, shoulders back, and peered at the three wood-elves under a narrowed gaze in spite of their taller frames. "That is not my mountain and my business is no concern of yours unless your king would like to speak with me personally. But I'd be most grateful if I were taken to where Gandalf and Master Baggins currently reside."
The elves exchanged weary glances. They weren't quick to trust a dwarf, no matter the gender. Éla suspected they believed she was some sort of spy or simply untrustworthy.
"As I said before, I'm unarmed." She raised her arms away from her body, giving them permission to perform a search if it came down to it. Neither one appeared interested.
"This way."
Éla internally thanked Mahal for the cooperation as she followed between the elves towards the busy camp.
Most of the company had retired from treasure-arrangements that afternoon. Earlier proceedings had left them all in an undesirable atmosphere. Balin had kept watch at the lookout since Éla's departure. He needed something to do while waiting for Oin to examine Thorin's left hand for any damage.
They were truly a pitiful sight to behold as the old dwarf left his perch to find his tempered friend. The young princes kept to themselves, not wanting to be near anyone for the time being. Dwalin remained by the entrance, ever watchful like a statue carved of the stone he leaned against. Only, the warrior's stare remained down-casted and unable to make contact with his older brother as he passed. The others busied themselves with petty tasks and acted as if nothing had happened.
Balin knew it was for their own safety.
He met Oin several chambers down the hall near the Front Gate and waited for the healer to be gone from sight before entering. Thorin sat with his back to the door next to a short wooden table. The room use to belong to the guards that were stationed on the wall above the Gate. The floor had since been littered with decaying pieces of parchment, wood and other materials devoured by time.
Balin ignored any familiarities and silently walked to the chair sitting opposite of Thorin and took a seat. He let the silence linger, praying that the king sitting across from him had calmed enough to have a civil discussion.
"How is your hand?" He asked quietly.
"Fine." Thorin responded. "The armor received most of the force."
"Good." Balin sat back almost pleased, resting an arm on the dusty surface of the table. "All the more reason to swing a hammer over your head a few times and knock some sense back into you."
Thorin returned a dark, menacing glare to heed warning to the old dwarf. He would not condone empty threats, but the dark look in the elder's eyes nearly made Thorin cringe for the first time since he could remember. The facade didn't suit him at all.
"There is no sense in worrying over me, Balin.
"I don't worry: I fear for you and what you have become." Balin leaned forward and pointed an accursed finger at Thorin. "Éla was the only good thing that's happened to you in decades since Fili and Kili were born."
Thorin refused to make any sort of eye contact. Balin assumed the ill-fated dwarf knew he was wrong when she had been right to guess his loyalties.
"Would you have hit her?"
Thorin closed his eyes as if it were all a bad dream. "No."
"Are you sure?" Balin asked more sternly. He did not know whether to believe these words to be true or another one of Thorin's misguided interpretations of their position. "With that amount of anger held up inside, it's hard to have imagined otherwise. You essentially threw her against the wall."
"I wouldn't have hurt her."
"You nearly did and you let her go." Balin stated none-too-pleased.
"She wanted to." Thorin did his best to keep his frustration in-check, but he could not hide the hurt etched within him as he spoke. "I scared her. The look in her eyes as she looked at me like I was some stranger, some wild beast…she doesn't understand why the-"
"You're not thinking clearly. You're actions are putting us in unnecessary danger. Do you not understand why she left?"
Balin watched helplessly as his friend buried his face in his hands and then stood. Thorin left the room with the old dwarf in pursuit, stopping at a small crevice in the wall overlooking the Front Gate. The crack was wide enough to stick an arm and a bow between its ridges for a clear shot at anyone who approached. The sun had begun to set and the evident light from the flames of the camps soured his mood ever more.
"She won't return." Thorin spoke quietly as his fists clenched at his sides again. He never wanted her to go but now that she was gone, he didn't know how to make it right. There was no way he could admit something so weak. A king always knew how to handle any situation that was donned upon him. This was different.
"That's giving up too soon." Balin withdrew to his supportive ways. At least, he prayed that Thorin would snap out of his lust for gold and Éla returned to the mountain.
Bilbo jumped to his feet at the cry of his name, nearly toppling over his chair when the front door abruptly swung open and unexpectedly. It took him a few seconds to adjust to the new company amidst hurried footsteps outside.
"Bilbo!"
Strong arms wrapped themselves around his torso in a friendly embrace, squeezing him gently before letting go.
"Are you alright?"
The hobbit stared blankly and confused at the female dwarf. One thing came to mind for her to be standing directly in front of him.
"Thorin didn't banish you, did he?!" A slight glint of panic and guilt coursed through him that she had left the mountain to be with him. After all, that's where her people were. It's where she belonged, not with a hobbit who betrayed her king.
Éla shook her head. "I left on my own."
"Why? They're your people." Bilbo couldn't make himself believe nor accept that she would do this for him. He couldn't allow it. It wasn't right.
"It was the only way I could think for Thorin to see, yet nothing feels right anymore." She walked around the room, observing the intact structure undamaged by the dragon.
The men had turned the few intact buildings near the valley into storage units and healing rooms. Tents had been raised outside for sleep near the fires. Éla stopped short in front of a coated mirror on the back wall. Bilbo went back to his chair and watched her curiously wipe away the dirt and dust only to catch sight of the braids still intertwined in her hair.
Éla contemplated removing them. She suddenly felt cornered and rushed in trying to cope with all the hurt that swelled deep inside, yet she couldn't bring herself to do it. A hand slid up to one of the metal clasps only to move away.
"It would be an offense to take them out?" Bilbo asked curiously.
"Pardon?"
"The braids."
Éla looked back at her reflection, her face contorting into a frown, disgusted by what she saw staring back. "I half expected Thorin to fall under the spell of the dragon sickness, but never have I predicted he would allow greed and pride to overrule his judgement in the blink of an eye."
"But you love him."
Everything had been mixed up. She was a mess physically and mentally. Éla allowed her hands to fall to the table, clenching as her core began to tremble from withheld sobs. "I should've never gotten involved in the first place. I knew better."
"Surely you don't mean that."
Gandalf stepped in the small room and the two occupants snapped around in surprise. He gave the female dwarf a pitying look full of compassion.
"No, I ran. I gave up." Éla couldn't find the strength to stand another minute, dreading her legs would collapse from fretfulness. "Instead of dealing with it, I chose to turn away from him."
"You did all you could." The grey wizard consolidated her but she kept shaking her head in retaliation.
"I avoided that chamber for six days, Gandalf. There was nothing stopping me from helping the others sort through the treasure but I couldn't bring myself to do it!"
"Your actions would have spoken volumes, Élarinya."
"I doubt that." She said gravely, sinking into her chair.
"What were you afraid of?" The question caused her to stand and pace the room uneasily. Gandalf looked to her in a way only a true friend could. Her relationship with the dwarf king had grown deeper than he initially suspected.
Éla's shoulders fell in exhalation and met the wizard with a sorrowful stare. "That I would've convinced myself that what they were doing was right: the gold, the poor treatment of the men of the Lake, and the elves. I couldn't stay and watch such madness. Not from Thorin."
Gandalf offered her to sit again as pacing would do nothing to relieve the resentment and frustration building up inside. "There may still be hope for him."
"I wish I could believe you."
Not as far as I wanted to get, but Balin will have a second round against Thorin in the next chapter. How long will it last? It won't. Decide for yourselves how that will ensue. I'm going to need an extra day or two to work on the next two chapters because of the content involved (and because I want to give you a well-written piece instead of bum-rushing like I've been doing recently.)
Keep a lookout for Sunday/Monday uploads instead of Friday/Saturday for the next 2 weeks. Updates will continue on my Tumblr as I work near the end of each week.