Nadi wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep. She woke often with a start, her arms wrapped around her stomach and the cold wind freezing the tear tracks on her face. She dreamt that she was back home in her chambers of stone, and when her eyes fluttered open and looked upon the low ceiling of her cell, she could have almost believed it. The Dwarves around her spoke in low, begrudged tones. Hours could have passed between the sentences that they traded or mere seconds. She didn't know anymore.

She turned with a groan and pressed her cheek against the stone floor. The Elf maiden had left long ago, so at least she no longer had to listen to her and Kili exchange stories: stories that grew sweeter and kinder until one could have almost believed that they were long-lost lovers.

"I'll wager the sun is on the rise," Bofur said, as if to himself. "Must be nearly dawn."

"We'll never reach the mountain now, will we?" Came Ori's heartbroken response. And then a new voice spoke, one that surprised them all.

"Not stuck in here, you're not!"

Nadi pushed herself up on her arms and sprang to the iron bars. There, just barely out of sight, was Bilbo's shaggy head. He was holding a ring of keys which he shook gleefully before them.

"Bilbo!" She cried. Nimble and quiet as a mouse, he tiptoed across the walkway, unlocking each cell as he went. When it was her turn to be freed she clasped him in a crushing hug and placed several kisses upon his forehead.

"You're a blessed sight," she said, and he blushed deeply. "Truly."

"The light of day would be a much more blessed sight," Thorin said. The Dwarves surrounded Bilbo and peppered him with questions. But he would say nothing on the matter of his evasion and was quick to shush them. He gestured at the stairs and they hurriedly clambered downwards, farther from what they assumed would have been a more reasonable exit point.

Finally, they reached a wide basement housing several cabinets full of wine alongside a wall of empty barrels. Two Elves lay snoozing with their heads buried in their arms upon a wooden table. One of them gave a grunt and shifted his head, but otherwise remained asleep. Bofur grabbed Bilbo's arm and demanded to know why he was leading them deeper within but with another shush and wave of his hand, Bilbo directed their gazes to the row of barrels.

"Get in," he said with a toss of his head before nervously looking over his shoulder.

"Are you mad?" Dwalin demanded to know. "They'll find us!"

But Nadi had already climbed her way into the topmost barrel. For a moment, her bottom wriggled around the opening before she was able to pop herself in and squirm around. "If Bilbo says that the answer to all of our problems is to sit in these here fine barrels and ferment for a few hours, then I'll believe him." Her head popped back out of the barrel and she looked upon them all with wide eyes. "...well! Come on! What are you waiting for?"

Grumbling, the Dwarves climbed their way into the barrels. When all fourteen were thus encased, they looked back out at Bilbo and awaited further command. The little Hobbit stared back at them with a slight smile - it was a sight that he would for sure like to remember - before placing both hands on a large wooden lever jutting out of the wall.

"So what do we do now?" Bofur asked.

"Hold your breath!" Bilbo jumped up and put all of his weight on the lever. The floorboards opened beneath them with a magnificent whoosh and they tumbled into an underground stream of rushing water.

Nadi screamed and ducked her head beneath the lip of the barrel. She was sent careening to and fro as the waters flushed around them, occasionally bumping into walls and jarring her head. Light burst above her and she realized with glee that they were out in the open!

"Yes! Yes! Woooo!" She stood up in her barrel and thrust her fists towards the sky. Clear water sprayed her face and she laughed. No more damp cells, no more unjust imprisonment! Freedom had come and it was exhilarating. She looked back and grinned as Bilbo fell with a splash into the water. The Dwarves caught him and maneuvered him between them as she gripped the lip of her barrel and began to spin herself around and sing at the top of her voice!

"What a fine and lovely day!

The Hobbit saves the Dwarves, hurray!

Such a warrior, bold and fair

All ruddy cheeks and curly hair!"

"She means to say that you've done well, Master Baggins," Thorin said and clapped Bilbo on the shoulder. "I'm inclined to agree with her."

Bilbo said nothing to this and simply gargled around a mouthful of water. He hadn't been so lucky as to procure a barrel of his own, and was left paddling in the freezing water.

A small, iron-wrought gate stood between them and the waterfall that would lead them down into the outside world. Happily, they splashed towards it and would have made it had not a cry in Elvish made them all turn around.

It was the fair-haired Elf, the one whom they had heard called Legolas. He bounded alongside the river, his guards moving swiftly behind him. The gate swung closed before them and they piled up against it.

"No!" Thorin said and smashed his fist against it. But it held steady, even as the pressure of their barrels pushed against it.

"Freedom," Nadi said, shaking her wet hair out of her face, "that damned fleet-footed damsel. I-" Her eyes caught Bilbo's, traveled up, and then suddenly widened.

There was a guttural yell from above him before something large and heavy splashed into the water. He looked down and realized that it was the body of one of the Elven guards, impaled straight through the neck. Several cries followed, and the sound of them made him shiver. They were unnatural, inhuman, throaty.

They were the cries of Orcs!

The Elves began to shout, their voices raised in fear and surprise. The sound of weapons clashing and arrows being fired was all around them. Nadi's head whipped back and forth as she watched the slaughter happening between the Orcs and the Elves. It seemed to her as if the Elves had formed an inadvertent barrier between the Orcs and the Company. She plunged her hand beneath her hair in search of her knives that she kept braided there, but was dismayed to find that they were gone. The Elves had taken them when she had first arrived in the Woodland Realm.

She remembered that there was one amongst the Company who often hid small blades in his hair as well. It was their shared secret, and the Elves might have overlooked him.

"Kili-" she turned but the barrel that he had occupied was empty. Her eyes traced the boulders lining the riverbed and she found him at the top of a small hill, heading straight for the lever that opened the gate. The Orcs were in close pursuit. Several rogue arrows were whizzing past him, too close for comfort.

Ignoring the cries of the Company, she launched herself out of the barrel and climbed the river rocks towards the hill. She spotted an Orc hovering on a plateau above Kili, but she was too late to stop the arrow that spun through the air and embedded itself in Kili's leg. He stumbled and fell to the ground with a pained grunt. The Orcs were coming in waves now, filling the air with their foul scent. Any second they would descend upon Kili and then…

They'd tear him to shreds.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw a flush of amber fire, preceded by the pale face of the Elf maiden set in concentration. They were both running towards Kili now, into the throng of Orcs surrounding him on all sides. Their eyes met and then suddenly they were running side-by-side. Tauriel came to a sudden stop and turned: Nadi turned at the same time and then suddenly they were back-to-back. As Tauriel fired, Nadi grabbed hold of the ax wielded by the nearest Orc and pushed it away. She was weaponless but driven mad by her need to protect the now injured Kili. She heaved and the Orc stumbled back as Tauriel fired once again. Their feet moved in sync as they turned, their backs still braced against one another. Tauriel now aimed her arrows at the Orc that Nadi had floored as Nadi sank her teeth into the arm of the new Orc standing in front of her.

They were protecting each other, guarding each other's backs as they fought.

Kili pushed himself off of the ground and yanked the lever. The iron gate slunk open and the Dwarves were pushed into the waterfall.

"Nadi!" Kili called. Nadi looked back at him and then, following his lead, jumped into a passing barrel.

The force of the water grabbed hold of her barrel and thrust her forward, into the waterfall. Before she fell, she happened to glance up, just in time to see Ana rush from the trees with her makeshift weapon in hand. No one else seemed to have noticed her, and yet Nadi knew instinctively that she had been there the entire time. Watching over her. But how? And, most importantly, why?

Against all odds, Nadi had come out of the fight on the plateau unscathed with no weapon in her hand. But it wasn't due to luck or expertise. Ana had been killing the Orcs on the outskirts, keeping them away from her.

A wave of water crashed over Nadi's barrel. She was blinded as she tumbled through the waterfall. She rose, gasping, and then was blinded again as her barrel hit the river with a jolt that rocked her entire body. When she rose, she could still hear the sound of the battle waging above them. But they were out of reach of the Elves now. The remaining Orcs that had managed to reach the lower ground river were quickly killed by the Company. They passed a heavy staff amongst their rank, using it to swat and displace the dwindling enemy numbers. Legolas appeared briefly at the top of the waterfall. But before he could be slain by a crouching Orc, Thorin tossed him a stolen ax and saved his life.

And then...they were free.

They continued down the river in solemn silence, paddling with their hands and watching the hills around them. Nadi had begun to feel like a bloated fish and quite nauseous because of it. No more did she twirl about in her barrel, instead pushing herself along as lightly as possible as to avoid sickness.

"I'm beginning to think this barrel farce is not a blessing, but a pain in the arse," she moaned. "Is there anything behind us?"

"Not that I can see," Dwalin responded.

"Then I think we've outrun the orcs."

"Not for long," Thorin said. "We've lost the current. Make for the shore. Come on!"

"Aye!"

They dragged themselves, heaving and panting, onto a sandy bank. Nadi was glad to be free of her waterlogged entrapment and immediately stretched her arms high over her head. Thorin wanted to leave the area quickly, on account of there being an Orc pack on their trail, but Kili was wounded. Black ooze festered from his leg where the arrow had pierced his skin. Though he tried to hide it, all could see that he was in grievous pain. Thorin was forced to relent and gave them two minutes to bind his leg.

Nadi stood a few paces away on the opposite end of the shore. She watched Kili's face as she wrung out her hair. There was a greyish tinge to his cheeks that reminded her of the time that they had fought together in the Battle of Moriah. It concerned her greatly, but she couldn't bring herself to draw any closer to him. There was a heavy tension between them, and she no longer knew when it had started or if it had been that way forever.

By chance, he looked up and caught her eye. His lip curled in a snarl and his eyes flashed dangerously.

"You," he growled. Balin stopped wrapping his leg long enough to give her a confused look. Kili pushed him away and attempted to stand up.

"What did you think you were doing?" He demanded. Fatigue overwhelmed him and he fell back into the sand with a gasp.

"Me?" She said in a high-pitched voice. The Company's movements became stilted as they listened in with bated breath to the conversation between the two Dwarves. "When?" she added.

"Earlier, when you jumped out of your barrel and went running into the Orc pack without a weapon to your name."

She balked. "I was trying to protect you and your thick skull!"

"There was no need. Tauriel had it under control."

"T-tauriel," she spat. "Is that the name of your new beloved? She would have been killed by the arrows raining upon her!"

"You don't know that," Kili said with a shake of his head. "She's an excellent fighter."

"Why, I'll eat my trousers if that's true-"

"Kili, Nadi, Kili-" It was Bilbo who stepped forward and raised his hands between them. "Now's not really the time."

"I agree," Thorin said. Nadi gulped and began to wring the water from her hair with a renewed fervor. She was resolved to ignore Kili for the rest of the journey, if not the rest of their lives. Bilbo walked up to her, nose twitching, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Look, well, see here...maybe now is a good time to tell him. Maybe clear the air, soften things up a bit before we leave," he said to her in a low voice.

She blinked at him in confusion. "What? Tell him that he's a thick-skinned oaf?"

"No, not that part," Bilbo said hurriedly. "Even though it may be true. No, tell him about the witch and the curse that she put on you. Remember, the one where it gave you dreams about killing him? That's where this whole tension started, am I right? Well, here's your chance to correct it. This whole thing has probably just been some big misunderstanding."

She blinked and blinked at him. And then blinked some more. "You're right," she said slowly. "It has all been a misunderstanding. I'll tell him now."

Bilbo was quite satisfied with his ability to heal old wounds and bring two parted lovers back together again. He stood back as Nadi wrung her hands, thinking of the right words to say.

She muttered to herself, shuffled her feet, and then looked back at him.

"Kili," she said. "I've had nightmares about you."

The entire Company stopped moving. They glanced between her and the raven-haired Dwarve in shock. Oin tapped his earpiece and then held it up to his ear.

"What did you say?" Kili said slowly. Nadi gulped.

"She said that she thinks that you're a nightmare," Oin interjected loudly. Kili threw up his hands and hissed in disgust. The Dwarves around him muttered darkly and glared at Nadi.

"No, no," she said quickly. "I meant to say...I've had dreams about killing you!"

"WHAT?!"

"She said she wants to kill you!" Oin shouted in surprise. The Dwarves cursed and yelled at Nadi, demanding to know where, exactly, her head was and why she was thinking such foolish thoughts. She whirled about, stuttering awkwardly, and Bilbo put his head in his hands. So much for trying. Thorin had the bridge of his nose pinched between his hands and was whispering to himself in Khuzdul.

"It's the curse, it's the curse!" Nadi tried again.

"She said you're a curse, Kili!"

"Ah, the lass has gone mad again-"

"That she has-"

"-was bound to happen. Women, you know?"

"SILENCE," she cried, "ALL OF YOU, PLEASE-"

"I'll silence you all if you make another move," a new voice said.

The Company looked up in surprise. A tall man was standing upon a boulder, his arrow levered straight at Ori's heart.