Thanks for the new reviews/favs/follows and thanks as always to DreamingGalaxies for all your help.
Laketown
Esme's POV
Esme couldn't help but feel glad to be in Laketown. As dilapidated and gloomy as the town was, it seemed like heaven compared to their horrifying trek through Mirkwood. The wooden hall they were led into looked to be in far better condition than the surrounding buildings. Large rectangular tables lined the room and a space had been left in the middle for dancing. At the centre of the largest table sat a rotund, unattractive man whom she took to be the ruler of this town. She shivered as he looked them over before welcoming them. He readily agreed to provide them with a house, clothes, medicine, and food for the duration of their stay in Laketown, but Esme just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something off about him.
Within no time, they had all been fed and were ushered out of the great hall amidst a round of applause from the gathered crowds. The master's guards brought them to a large building near the marketplace. Like the other homes in this town, it was dilapidated and dreary looking from the outside. The door however had been recently painted and the curtains on the windows were of a finer material than most of the surrounding dwellings. Whoever normally lived here had been trying to take care of it. Esme supposed this was the closest thing to luxury that was to be found in this miserable town.
Inside, the home was far less dilapidated than it looked from the outside. The large living room they stepped into was furnished with two couches and four armchairs, a large ornate coffee table stood before a large stone fireplace. The furniture was old but well looked after and someone had lit a fire in the hearth which warmed the room and gave everything a copper hue. As the others helped Bilbo and Nori upstairs to rest, Esme looked around downstairs. There was a large kitchen just off the living room and it led out onto a large porch with two wooden rocking chairs.
Oin was already looking through the well-stocked herbs in the kitchen and Bombur was busy boiling water to make tea. Esme leaving them to it wandered out onto the porch and took a seat on one of the rocking chairs. From the porch, she could see the solitary peak of Erebor stretching high into the sky in the distance. Was this the end of her journey? Thorin had insisted she could travel with them to Laketown but no further, but where was her father?
"Are you alright?"
Esme was startled at the deep voice from behind her. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't heard Thorin approaching.
"Should he not have been here by now?" she questioned.
Thorin took a seat on the other rocking chair and took out his pipe. "It's a long march from the Iron Hills. He is late, but he will come."
"How can you be so sure?" she asked as she watched one of Thorin's smoke rings rise into the evening air and drift away.
Thorin sighed, "Because he has spent a lifetime searching for you, Esmeralda. I know you are nervous. I know you do not know him, but he loves you, of that, I have no doubt. He will come."
Esme nodded, "What if he doesn't? I don't like it here Thorin. Something feels off about this whole place and that master —"
"I know, I feel it too. Your father will come."
Putting out his pipe, Thorin rose from his seat and made his way back inside leaving Esme to her thoughts once again.
"I didn't like him either," a voice sounded from behind her again.
Looking up she saw Kili standing at the door looking out towards the mountain.
"The master?" she asked.
Kili simply nodded. His eyes were locked on Erebor.
"He gave me the creeps," Esme admitted.
Snapping out of his gaze, Kili moved forward to take the seat Thorin had been sitting on just moments ago. "Me too and did you see that man approach him as we left the hall? He had an ill-favoured look."
Esme knew exactly who Kili was talking about. As they were being led from the hall a tall, smarmy-looking man approached the master. He leaned in close to him and began whispering something in his ear, but the master raised his hand silencing him.
"Did you hear what he said to him?" she asked Kili.
The young dwarf prince shook his head.
"No, but I don't like it. Do not leave the house alone."
Jenna's POV
Jenna sat beside Nori's bed. Dori had lit a candle on the bedside locker earlier and the warm glow of it now filled the small room. She brushed the hair back away from Nori's face, noting how hot he felt as she did so. He was burning up but he was still shivering. She grabbed another warm woolen blanket from the drawers beside the bed and placed it over him carefully. Picking up another pillow she stood wondering how she was going to get it behind his head without disturbing him.
"I didn't think it was possible to find anyone as fussy as Dori, but apparently it is," Nori mumbled, eyes still closed.
Without thinking she tutted and threw the pillow at him. "I am not like Dori!"
Nori started to cough violently, and Jenna rushed to his side to grab the pillow and helped him to sit. She placed it behind him to prop him up.
"Never mind, you aren't like Dori, he's never tried to kill me!" Nori grinned at her when he finally caught his breath.
Jenna smiled, swatting his shoulder gently. "Drink this, then lie back down, you need to sleep."
She placed a cup of tea in Nori's hand. Pulling a face, he looked at her incredulously. "Oin's tea? You really are trying to kill me!"
"Oh, shut up and just drink it!" she ordered, rolling her eyes at him.
Nori gulped it down and, making a face at her again, pushed the cup back into her hands. She helped him lie back down again and pulled the blanket up over him making sure he was well covered.
"Stop fussing lass," he whispered as he drifted off to sleep again.
Jenna was glad he wasn't awake to see the tears that spilled down her cheeks now. She held his hand as he lay sleeping and let them flow freely. Oin had said with a little rest Nori was going to be alright but it didn't stop her from worrying. A couple of months ago he had been a stranger to her but now she simply couldn't imagine a world without Nori in it.
"He's tougher than he looks, he'll pull through."
Jenna looked up to see Dori standing beside her looking down at his younger brother.
"He's been through worse let me tell you."
Jenna tried to wipe the tears spilling down her cheeks with her free hand but as soon as she had cleared them, they were replaced with new ones, and she soon gave up. "I don't know what I'd do without him, Dori. He's all I have."
"Well, that's just nonsense now," the older dwarf huffed, "he isn't all you have. You have us too, Ori and I."
With that, he offered her a handkerchief and pulled a chair over for her to sit on. She smiled gratefully at him.
"Thank you. I didn't even think you liked me," she admitted as she dabbed at her eyes.
Huffing, Dori took a seat on the edge of Nori's bed. He fussed over the blankets and pillows and for a moment, Jenna could see what Nori had meant about her earlier behaviour. Maybe she was a fusspot like Dori.
"One thing you have to understand about my brother is that he is spectacularly good at making bad decisions. For a long time, I thought that perhaps you were another one," Dori admitted.
"But you don't think that now?" Jenna questioned.
"Perhaps not. He cares about you a great deal and I do not wish to see him hurt. Mahal knows he's had enough of that in his life," sighed Dori.
Jenna frowned, "You thought I was going to hurt him?"
Dori sighed and looked up from where he had been fixing the blankets again.
"Yes, I did. Maybe not intentionally but he doesn't deserve to be hurt all the same. Now I'm not sure what to think but I can see you care about him and at the end of the day that's all that really matters to me."
Jenna nodded. "Nori and I, we aren't —"
Dori held up a hand to stop her.
"I know, he already told me, more than once. But two people don't have to be romantically involved for one of them to get hurt. Sometimes both of them."
With that, he stood from the bed and looked down at her.
"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I overheard your conversation with my brother in the elven dungeons. For what it's worth, I do not think that you will ever be like your mother, you're too strong for that. But loving someone doesn't make you weak, not when it's the right person."
Jenna thought she would have been furious knowing that Dori had overheard her confession, but she couldn't find it in her heart to be angry with him.
"How do I know if it's the right person?"
"You'll feel it," Dori smiled kindly at her. "Now, I don't suppose there is any point in telling you to try to sleep so I shall just say goodnight. Don't hesitate to call me if I'm needed."
"I won't," she promised as he quietly left the room.
Rising from the chair Dori had pulled over for her she slipped off her shoes and lay down beside Nori on the bed. Draping an arm around him she rested her head against his shoulder.
"Please get better," she whispered, "I need you."
Thorin's POV
"Is something the matter?"
Startled out of his thoughts Thorin turned from the window he had been looking out through to see Dwalin entering the room. He wasn't sure how long he had been standing there but at some point, the evening had turned to night and the room was now in darkness. Making his way over to the small nightstand he lit the candle there.
Shaking his head in an effort to clear his thoughts he sighed heavily. "Do you know I'm not sure now what it was that I was thinking of?"
"You're tired, we all are." Dwalin dismissed Thorin's concern.
Thorin ran his fingers through his hair. "Something doesn't feel right."
Dwalin nodded as he took a seat at the desk in the corner of the small room. "It's this wretched place. I don't like this master of Laketown, he's greedy and sly, he cannot be trusted!"
"Agreed," Thorin answered, his forehead creasing into a frown. "There has been neither sight nor sign of a party from the Iron Hills either. Borak should have been here by now."
Dwalin's frown now matched Thorin's own, and he knew exactly what his friend was thinking. If Borak didn't arrive, then they couldn't leave Esme and Jenna here alone and if they couldn't leave them here alone then what exactly were they to do with them? Despite his earlier reassurances to Esme, it was a question that Thorin had been worrying over. It was not such a long journey from the Iron Hills to Laketown that Borak should not have arrived yet. Could something have happened? Durin's day was fast approaching, and they had to make it to the mountain on time, they could not afford to wait too long here.
"But he will come," Thorin insisted, not sure whether he was trying to convince Dwalin or himself.
"What if he isn't here on time? We can't leave them alone in this place, but what other choice do we have? We can't take them with us." Dwalin put his head in his hands as he spoke.
"Can we not?" Thorin spoke almost as if to himself. It wasn't a terrible idea now that he thought about it. They would be able to leave earlier if they just took Esme and Jenna with them. They had to get to the mountain, at all costs.
Dwalin sat up straight in shock. "You can't be serious! There's a dragon inside that mountain, Thorin! If we wake it —"
"If we wake it then it will attack Laketown, and they'll die anyway! I will give Borak two weeks and no more. We need time to reach the mountain and find the door or all of this has been for nothing! If he does not arrive in time, then we take them with us!" Thorin snapped at his friend.
"That wasn't the plan!" Dwalin fumed.
"Plans change!"
"What the hell has gotten into you Thorin? I won't put my wife in danger!" Dwalin slammed his fist on the table to emphasize his point.
Thorin felt himself growing angry at his friend's insolence. He would not treat him like this when he was king. Nobody would speak to him like that again once he had reclaimed the mountain and the crown of his fathers rested upon his head.
"She's been in danger from the moment she left the Shire! If you do not like it, then take her and leave! NOTHING will stop me from entering my mountain!"
"Not even Jenna?" Dwalin questioned, "Would you put her in danger too?"
"GET OUT!" Thorin yelled angrily.
Thorin's own raised voice seemed to snap him out of his anger. He wasn't sure what had just happened to him but suddenly it was as if a cloud lifted, and he could see clearly once again. What had he been saying? What kind of madness had come over him that he would have considered taking Jenna and Esmeralda to that mountain even for a moment? Something was wrong.
"Dwalin wait—" he called out, but Dwalin was already at the door.
"I've heard enough!" his friend spat out as he slammed the door leaving Thorin alone.
Thorin slumped down onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling.
"What is happening to me?"
Dwalin's POV
Dwalin was on his way to the kitchen when he walked past Thorin's open door. At first, he thought that the dark room was empty, he probably would have continued on his way without noticing Thorin at all if it hadn't been for their king's quiet whisper. "Erebor."
"Thorin?" he questioned as he stepped towards the door.
Thorin stood silhouetted against the window, staring out at the shadow of the lonely mountain, and muttering to himself quietly. Dwalin stepped fully into the room.
"Is something the matter?"
Thorin suddenly turned to face him, a look of confusion on his face. He clearly hadn't heard Dwalin enter. That in itself was unusual for Thorin, he was not often caught off his guard.
Lighting a candle on a table in the corner of the room Thorin shook his head. "Do you know I'm not sure now what it was that I was thinking of?"
"You're tired, we all are," Dwalin sighed. Mirkwood had taken a lot out of them all and the barrel ride hadn't helped matters.
"Something doesn't feel right."
Dwalin nodded as he sat down. "It's this wretched place. I don't like this master of Laketown, he's greedy and sly, he cannot be trusted!"
"Agreed," Thorin answered, but it seemed as though he was miles away, trapped in some other thought.
"Are you ok Thorin?" he questioned but he got no answer. Thorin was staring off into the distance. "Thorin!?"
Suddenly Thorin looked at him again as if he had just remembered he was there. "There has been neither sight nor sign of a party from the Iron Hills either. Borak should have been here by now."
Dwalin frowned, something was wrong. Was Thorin sick? Perhaps he simply needed sleep, but he was certainly not himself. His friend looked drawn and pale, and he wondered if perhaps he should fetch Oin to have a look over him.
"But he will come." Thorin suddenly spoke again.
"What if he isn't here on time? We can't leave them alone in this place, but what other choice do we have? We can't take them with us." Dwalin sighed as he put his head in his hands. Thorin was fine, he reassured himself. Dwalin was tired himself and simply reading too much into things.
"Can we not?" Thorin suddenly whispered as if to himself.
Dwalin sat up straight and looked at his friend again. "You can't be serious! There's a dragon inside that mountain, Thorin! If we wake it —"
"If we wake it then it will attack Laketown, and they'll die anyway! I will give Borak two weeks and no more. We need time to reach the mountain and find the door or all of this has been for nothing! If he does not arrive in time, then we take them with us!" Thorin snapped suddenly.
Dwalin was taken aback by Thorin's outburst, but he tried to reason with their King. "That wasn't the plan!"
"Plans change!" Thorin insisted angrily.
"What the hell has gotten into you Thorin? I won't put my wife in danger!" Dwalin insisted, slamming his fist on the table hoping that it would snap Thorin out of whatever this was.
"She's been in danger from the moment she left the Shire! If you do not like it, then take her and leave! NOTHING will stop me from entering my mountain!"
Dwalin could not believe what he was hearing. Thorin was actually considering taking the girls with them. Would he willingly put Esme in danger? Even Jenna, a lass he professed to love, would Thorin really bring her to that mountain and to certain death? He couldn't be serious, could he?
"Not even Jenna? Would you put her in danger too?"
"GET OUT!" Thorin yelled angrily.
Dwalin stood up quickly. He didn't know what had come over Thorin, but he knew he didn't like it.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" he questioned but Thorin had gone back to staring off into the distance as if he wasn't there. Turning on his heel he stomped angrily towards the door.
"Dwalin, wait—" Thorin suddenly called out.
"I've heard enough!" he snapped angrily as he walked out, the door banging loudly behind him.
Dwalin stormed back down the corridor to the room he had left his wife in earlier. How could Thorin ever think that bringing Esme to Erebor was a good idea? From the very start, he had insisted that the girls would go no further than Laketown. What changed? Thorin had always been steadfast and stubborn, but he would never knowingly put someone in danger, especially not a lass. Not normally anyway.
Throwing open the door of the room he shared with his wife he stomped in angrily. Esme placed the book she had been reading down on the bed beside her.
"I thought you were making me tea?" she questioned.
"Sorry, I forgot," he muttered.
"What is it? What's the matter?" Esme asked, sitting upright.
Dwalin kicked off his boots and plonked himself angrily down onto the bed. "Nothing to worry about love, just Thorin being Thorin. Bloody pig-headed idiot!"
"Do I even want to know?" she laughed.
Dwalin sighed and caught her hand in his. He felt bone tired. Maybe it was just lack of sleep that was affecting all of them. With a bit of luck Thorin would calm down and things would look better in the morning.
"Probably not."
Smiling, she pulled him towards her. "Then come to bed. It's been a long while since we've been able to share one."
Dwalin grinned as he moved to join her. "Too long."
TBC