Chapter 21

All rights go to Peter Jackson and Tolkien respectively, I only own my OCs.

It was cold and wet, and Thorin could not help but let go a quiet groan at the stench of fish and oil.

"How much longer you think?" He heard Bilbo peep at their smuggler, Bard. When they had stopped to mend Kili's wound, a bargeman from Laketown had ambushed them. Thorin grinned to himself thinking of Balin's witty tactics that had secured them a secret entrance into Laketown by way of Bard.

"Patience, Halfling. We will be there soon. Then you may have dry clothes."

"There's, um, just a problem: we're ten coins short." Balin addressed Thorin, breaking him from the thoughts he had just entered not a moment ago.

"Gloin. Come on." Thorin sighed like a tired parent. "Give us what you have."

"Don't look to me!" Gloin feigned innocence. "I have been bled dry by this venture! And what have I seen for my investment? Naught but misery and grief and…" He trailed off as he saw that the others were no longer listening. He huffed in frustration, but then he saw it.

The Lonely Mountain.

"Bless my beard, take it. Take all of it!" He shoved a bag of coins at Balin, who gave him a pointed look in return. They were torn from their longing when Bard approached urgently.

"The money, quick, give it to me." He demanded. Thorin turned to him with all of the authority he could muster.

"We'll pay you when we get our provisions, but not before." He growled.

"If you value your freedom, you'll do as I say." Bard huffed. "There are guards ahead."

Within the Woodland Realm things were mostly dull, in Tauriel's opinion. Granted they had feasts when there was an occasion for it and those were a nice change, but daily life consisted of more often than not one routine. This routine was different for each elf, but that routine would be repeated every day. And so this was how living as a Wood Elf felt to Tauriel. She loved her work as captain of the guard and she was incredibly proud to be the elf that she was, however something in her always had felt dissatisfied with the way things were. Though she would not vocalize it, she felt frustrated that her king Thranduil would time and time again actively stay out of the affairs of the world, not caring to help anyone.

"So the dwarves are gone." Said king was now snapping at her. She stood in the throne room beside Legolas, the two of them standing before Thranduil like children waiting to be punished by their father.

"We would have had them contained, if not for the orc attack." Legolas tried to reason. "However that is no excuse, we should have been prepared for anything." He bowed his head in submission. Tauriel admired Legolas for that ability that he seemed to have to resist making excuses and always displaying humility.

"Yes you should have." Thranduil snapped. Clearly he was not as impressed with the quality as she was. Thranduil sighed, descending the staircase that allowed his throne to be high above the rest of the room. He was soon at their level, his silver robes flowing behind him and his white hair glistening, giving off an ethereal look that would have rendered anyone who did not know him speechless. "Thorin Oakenshield is trying to reclaim that mountain, no doubt for the gold like the greedy dwarf he is."

"Why would the orcs want so much to stop him?" Legolas frowned. Thranduil crinkled his perfect brows as well, clearly not having all of the answers at that moment.

"Did you take any prisoners? Any orcs we can gain answers from?" Thranduil questioned them expectantly.

"There is one, my lord." Tauriel spoke up, remembering the orc that she had overpowered just before he could kill Legolas.

"Bring him here for questioning. We will soon know how much of a disaster Thorin Oakenshield has created." Thranduil ordered, his nose wrinkling in disgust at the mention of the dwarf. The two elves nodded and immediately left the king, retrieving the orc from the dungeons that had only recently been emptied of the dwarves. They wasted no time in returning to Thranduil.

Tauriel circled the terrace impatiently as she watched her king question the Orc that Legolas had spared. Legolas held a knife roughly to the Orc's neck, and Tauriel scrunched her nose in disgust at the foul creature. She couldn't help but let her mind wander back to the mysterious young dwarf she had spoken with in the dungeon. He had a girl to get back, and she was secretly glad that he had escaped so that he might retrieve her. She may not have liked dwarves, but she had no objection to love.

"Such is the nature of evil. Out there in the vast ignorance of the world it festers and spreads, a shadow that grows in the dark. A sleepless malice as black as the oncoming wall of night." Thranduil strolled about the terrace, confidence exuding from him. He was the type of man that demanded attention whenever he entered a room, and didn't have to say a word to get it. "So it ever was; so will it always be. In time, all foul things come forth."

"You were tracking a company of thirteen dwarves. Why?" Legolas pressed the knife further into the Orc's neck. It coughed disgustingly.

"Not thirteen; not anymore. The young one, the black-haired archer, we stuck him with a morgul shaft." It growled. Tauriel felt a lump form in her throat. Was that the reckless dwarf she had spoken with? She was sure she had saved him from that warrior woman at the river. "The poison's in his blood. He'll be choking on it soon."

"Answer the question, filth." Tauriel gulped nervously. He had not been an unkind prisoner to her, and she had seen the way he had risked himself to save his friends at the river. He was a good person, she sensed that from what she had seen of him. The Orc spat something at her in its language—no doubt something insulting—and she scowled at it.

"I would not antagonize her." Legolas warned as Tauriel flourished her blade. She wanted nothing more than to slit its slimy throat, anything to wipe the smirk off its face.

"You like killing things, Orc?" She taunted. "You like death? Then let me give it to you!" She rushed at the Orc, ready to end him.

"Tauriel, leave! Go now." Thranduil ordered. Tauriel staggered back, shocked. Why was he not more concerned about the dwarves? Orcs were enemies of the elves as well, why could he not see the advantage in destroying them? She turned to leave, listening to his voice as she went.

"I do not care about one dead dwarf. Answer the question." Thranduil continued, as though nothing had happened. Tauriel felt her stomach churn. The dwarf would die, unless someone helped him. The Orcs would win, unless someone helped the dwarves to stop them. If Thranduil would not, then she would. She went to her quarters to gather her hunting things, and set out to track the dwarves.

Blinding pain was all that Kili could feel as he let out a stifled cry in anguish. Fili rushed to his side immediately.

"Kili?" He croaked, rubbing his little brother's back. Kili took a deep breath as the pain subsided a bit. They were waiting in Bard's cramped home as Thorin and Dwalin argued with Bard over the quality of weapons. His children, Bain, Sigrid, and Tilda, stared at Kili like he was a fantastic creature of some sort. He rolled his eyes. Children.

"Are you alright, sir?" Sigrid, Bard's eldest daughter, approached the brothers cautiously.

"I'm fine, it's nothing." Kili grunted. He wanted nothing more than to get to the mountain and defeat Smaug instead of waiting around in Laketown. He could not help but to feel the pressure of reclaiming the mountain now that they were so close to it, and he kept in mind his own quest to find Nina after that.

"The moment you feel any pain again, you must tell me." Fili ordered. Kili remained in his thoughts. "Kili!"

"Yes, yes, brother I will tell you." Kili said with a jolt. Fili, after looking satisfied with the answer he got, left his brother to his thoughts and followed Sigrid over to her siblings. He seemed to be very kind to the children, Kili noticed, and enjoyed talking to them.

"You're not going anywhere." Bard mumbled, catching Kili's attention. The dwarves crowded around him outraged.

"What did you say?!" Dwalin bellowed.

"There's spies watching this house and probably every dock and wharf in the town. You must wait till nightfall." Bard explained. It sounded logical enough to Kili, but it was rather inconvenient. They had no good weapons, and now they had to deal with a delay in their travels. Balin said something to Thorin no doubt to pacify him that Kili could not hear, which caused Bard to get a strange look on his face and leave the house. Kili watched as the dwarves all grumbled to themselves, but with his injury he did not have the energy to join in.

"We have to get there." He whispered to himself, gazing at the mountain that was upon them.

"Who goes there?" Tauriel growled, her bow loaded. She was perched on a rocky ledge overlooking the lake when she heard a noise.

"Put your bow down, it's not like I can kill you." A quite nonchalant looking girl strolled out of the cover of the bushes. Her golden hair shone brightly in the afternoon sun, pulled back at her ears practically, and her blue eyes focused sharply on Tauriel. Her smile was twisted. "Then again, I suppose I can."

"Who are you?" Tauriel asked, her voice a bit shaky. Something about this girl put her on edge and she drew her arrow back tighter.

"I am no one, really, but what I want to know is who are you?" The girl replied casually. "You're following my men."

"Those Orcs? They are not men, they are disgusting animals." She curled her nose in disgust. The girl's face turned into a dark scowl.

"I don't really care for them myself, but their leader is my leader, and he does not tell me lies like everyone else." She growled.

"I'm not following the Orcs, if you must know. I am tracking…someone else." Tauriel replied, purposefully keeping her quest vague.

"Who then?" The girl approached.

"That is my own business." Tauriel ended the conversation. "Go on your way now, there is nothing more to be said between us." The girl gave a small chuckle and nodded. She walked away from Tauriel, seemingly unconcerned with the arrow aimed at her.

"Before I leave you, let me say this. Your efforts to save the dwarves during our attack did not go unnoticed by me. If they are who you're tracking, then I am afraid we will meet again."

"So be it."

It was nightfall when chaos erupted in Laketown. Nina rose her eyebrows in surprise when she heard the screaming and uproar as she watched the town from a distance with Erich.

"Foolish men." He chuckled. Nina nodded. They listened as the men shouted and carried on outside of the city hall. Nina strained to listen, she may have been half elf but her hearing was human.

"Thorin and the dwarves stole weapons, that man over there said it." He pointed at a sly looking weasel-like man. "Thorin is trying to win the support of the people to avoid getting arrested."

"I would see those days returned…" Thorin's voice rose to Nina's ears. Something stirred in her when she heard that commanding voice. She shook the feeling.

"How should we go about stopping the dwarves then?" She tried to distract herself.

"We wait until tomorrow when the town is settled more, now we are outnumbered." Erich reasoned. She nodded, unable to stop herself from listening to Thorin's speech.

"I speak to the Master of the men of the Lake. Will you see the prophecy fulfilled? Will you share in the great wealth of our people?" Thorin bellowed, receiving cheers from the men of Laketown. She was a little surprised to hear the amount of desperation and emotion in his words, and it was enough to make her waver in her loyalties. Nina found herself holding her breath as she awaited the town's response.

"Welcome, King under the Mountain!" The Master bellowed, only the end of his answer reaching her ears.

"They believe in him." Nina peeped. Erich frowned at her, watching as she stared down at the lake with a puzzled expression. "What are his crimes again?" She turned to him. Her blue eyes pierced the night, and Erich sighed. The dwarves' Nina was starting to fight back against his influence.

"Come, I think you need to be taught again." He held her forearm firmly and brought her to the corner of the makeshift camp they had made with the Orcs guarding. Erich sighed again as he brought her into a larger tent. He would have to spend the majority of the night using the black speech he had learned to control her again. The poor girl sat still in a chair, her eyes questioning him until he began speaking. Then the Nina she had been started once again to fade away.

It was early morning, a little too early for Bilbo's taste when the company marched out to their long boat where they would travel to the mountain. He could hardly believe that they were so close now, and while the freezing and uncomfortable part of him ached for his sweet home, the Tookish side of him could hardly wait to get on with the dwarvish adventure.

"You do know we're one short, where's Bofur?" Bilbo called to Thorin as he looked around. Thorin gave an almost inaudible sigh in exhaustion, vaguely reminding Bilbo of a tired father.

"If he's not here, we leave him behind." Thorin replied. Bilbo opened his mouth to argue the statement when Balin rushed to his side, justifying their leader. Bilbo sighed as they climbed past Thorin onto the boat. Kili moved to follow them when Thorin put his arm out in front of him.

"Not you. We must travel with speed, you will slow us down." Thorin said quietly into Kili's ear. Kili's heart leaped into his throat. What was his uncle saying?

"What are you talking about? I'm coming with you."

"No."

"I'm going to be there when that door is opened, when we first look upon the halls of our forefathers…Thorin!" He exclaimed incredulously as his uncle gently pushed him away from the boat.

"Kili, stay here and rest. Join us when you're healed." Kili shook his head rapidly, unable to find the words to argue. His leg twitched with pain.

"I'll stay with the lad, my duty lies with the wounded." Oin called over to the two dwarves as he climbed out of the boat. Fili followed behind.

"Uncle, we grew up on tales of the mountain. Tales you told us. You can't take that away from him!" Fili argued passionately. Thorin gave his nephew an unreadable look.

"Fili."

"I will carry him, if I must!"

"One day you will be king, and you will understand. I cannot risk the fate of this quest for the sake of one dwarf, not even my own kin." Thorin reasoned. Fili shook his head in disappointment at his uncle and moved to be with his brother. "Fili, don't be a fool. You belong with the company."

"I belong with my brother."

Fili joined his brother and Oin at the dock, while Thorin only stepped into the boat and started their journey to the mountain. The speech of the Master of Laketown was muffled in Kili's ears as the pain throbbed in his leg, and Fili held him up comfortingly. Just then, Bofur raced over to the three of them.

"So you missed the boat as well, lads?" He chuckled breathlessly, no doubt from running to the dock. Kili made to reply, but the pain became too much and he dropped to the ground. Everything went black.

When Kili stirred to consciousness, he looked around immediately. Light was not blinding him, so he knew he was indoors. Before he could gather any more information, the pain from his wound came rushing back to him and he let out an agonizing scream.

"The dragon, it's going to kill us." The faint voice of a little girl peeped somewhere near him, though to Kili the voices all sounded like they were coming from everywhere at once.

"Where is Bofur with that kingsfoil?!" Fili growled from above him.

"Bard, that isn't wise!" Oin called, but the door slamming told Kili that Bard was gone. A new wave of pain hit him with powerful force.

"What's happening?" Fili called to Oin, looking around to find Bard's three children standing in the kitchen, lost looks on their faces. Bard had been reluctantly kind enough to let them house Kili in his home so they could heal him. However, the healing was not going well at all. And on top of everything, a dragon had awoken in the mountain.

"Bard's gone off to kill the dragon." Oin answered frantically.

"I need some air." Sigrid huffed, the door slamming behind her as she left the room. Fili ran a shaky hand through his golden locks.

"How is he going to get through this? He looks worse!" He gasped at Kili. Before anymore could be said, Sigrid ran back into the house screaming as she tried to hold the door shut. Fili rushed to her aid, but not soon enough as an Orc rushed in past the woman.

Chaos ensued. Sigrid grabbed her younger sister and hid under the table with her, while Bain their brother threw benches at the Orcs. Fili and Oin wasted no time in brandishing their weapons to kill the beasts. Kili remained screaming in the bed. Soon enough, the redheaded elf Fili recognized as Tauriel appeared to fight the Orcs, followed by the blonde elvish prince. No one had really even noticed Nina's presence.

"You killed them all…" Bain gasped breathlessly in awe once the Orcs were all dead. Legolas, the elvish prince, nodded hurriedly.

"There are others, Tauriel come." He ordered, not even looking back to see if she was following him. Tauriel gulped nervously as she lingered. She felt a twinge of guilt. She had convinced Legolas to follow her to destroy Orcs, but she had not mentioned to him her concern for the dwarf Kili. The dwarf himself now lay screaming on the floor at her feet, having gotten up to stab an Orc for her.

"We're losing him!" Oin screamed to Fili in panic. Tauriel looked up in the direction of where Legolas had gone, and she made to follow. They had come for the Orcs, and one look at Kili told her he was about to die. She wasn't strong enough to watch it happen to the poor dwarf. She was stopped abruptly by a sword blocking her way.

"I had hoped we wouldn't meet again like this." Tauriel glared at the now much closer girl from the river.

"Then let us get on with it." Tauriel growled, brandishing her daggers. In a flash, she could have the girl dead at her feet. She could tell that the girl's skills were not incredible, and she kept blinking in frustration as if she were fighting something. She dealt harsh blows to the girl, but all were blocked albeit sloppily by the girl's sword. After a minute of fighting, the dwarves too occupied with Kili to notice, Tauriel lifted her dagger for the killing blow.

"NO!" Kili's terrified voice stopped her short, and both women looked at him with wide eyes. "Please, don't hurt her…" He fought to remain awake as his eyes landed on the girl. "Please, don't hurt Nina…"

"Nina!" Fili jumped in surprise when he followed his brother's gaze. "Nina, we can help you." Tauriel looked from Kili to Nina in confusion.

"Who is she?"

"She is our friend, but they took her. They took her and they turned her against us and I don't…" Fili fought back tears. "I don't know how to get her back."

"She has the power to save him, too." Oin croaked, gesturing to the deathly pale Kili. "She's done it before." Tauriel rounded on Nina.

"You are the girl he spoke of in prison, you have to be. I hardly know him at all, but I know that he is good. Please, save him if not for the dwarves than for him, a good man." Nina stared at Kili with wide eyes welling up with tears. She was fighting.

"Please…" Kili whispered pitifully before screaming in pain. That got her.

"Okay, on the table with him." She croaked. "I can do my best."

"Nina thank Mahal…" Fili let out a tearful sob before regaining himself.

"I haven't saved him yet." She met his red eyes with her own tired ones. "And I may not be able to."

"You did before…" Fili argued over Kili's screams. "I don't understand!"

"He is so close to death." Tauriel stated, locking eyes with Nina.

For the first time in what felt like ages, Nina closed her eyes and searched for Galadriel. When she had saved Kili's life in Rivendell, it had been by accident and she had not used her powers to heal since that day. She did not know how to save someone on purpose.

"Please, hear me." She whispered. She tried her hardest to block out Kili's weakening cries, but she couldn't as tears trickled down her cheeks at the sound of his pain. She knew how he died, and it wasn't like this.

"Can you keep him still somehow?" Tauriel barked at the two dwarves trying in vain to comfort Kili, and they immediately focused on holding him down with Tauriel holding his injured leg.

"I am not strong." Nina started to say, trying to speak to any higher power there was to help her here. "I cannot watch him die now, and I will not be able to later. Please, help me to save him. It is not his time." She focused all of her energy into her hands that lay on the wound in his thigh, and she saw the black poison running through his veins, closing in on his heart. "Not yet!" She screamed in panic. He couldn't die now. Not now.

She screwed her eyes shut and felt a warm sensation in her hands. It was the light that had touched him before, and she concentrated it even harder into his wound as the lilting voice of Galadriel came into her ear.

The darkness came for you my daughter, fight it.

Nina focused all of her heat and light into Kili's life, begging for him to be alright. Her mind abruptly brought her back to her nightmare she had had so long ago in the goblin tunnels about being tortured with Fili by the orcs. Those memories of being stabbed by a morgul blade came to her, and the jagged scar on her side burned once again. She cried out in pain as the sensation worsened.

Please, fight it.

"Save him." She gasped in pain as all went silent. The heat and light from her was gone, and where she had seen black veins and an arrow wound there was now untouched skin. She took a shaky hand to her side and felt her own morgul wound. Her scar was gone, and a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"He needs rest." Tauriel decided as Nina staggered back weakly. She decided to sit in a chair beside Kili as the others went to the other side of the room to discuss what to do next. Nina couldn't help but to stare at Kili. She had never seen him with her eyes before, and she realized that he was so different than what she had imagined. Of course, seeing him reminded her of the night he had kissed her, and she squirmed awkwardly at that memory and the arguments between them that had come from it. She was not surprised to realize that she had missed him so much.

"I knew you'd come back to us." A very weak sounding Kili interrupted her thoughts groggily. She leaned forward eagerly and smiled at him.

"You helped." She peeped, fighting back tears. "I'm so sorry, I let him control me…"

"It was not your fault." He stopped her, reaching his hand out to hers. She took it gently, feeling like it had been ages since they had shared such a gesture.

"I won't ever let that happen to me again." Nina told him, mostly reassuring herself. She would deal with Erich for what he did soon enough, but for now she needed to stay with the dwarves. He stirred, fighting sleep. Nina chuckled. "Get some rest, Kili."

"How did you fight it?" Fili's voice sounded from behind her. Nina turned to meet his cautious eyes. He was still wary of her, she knew.

"I don't know." She admitted. She had been so focused on healing Kili, she hadn't been able to discern how her scar was healed or how anything had happened. "Fili, if I did anything while I was…under that man's influence, I—"

"You are a part of this company and what you did then doesn't matter. You fought and you came back to us, that is what matters." Fili stopped her with a warm embrace. She smiled and eagerly returned the gesture. He felt like a big brother to her; she felt for the first time since she'd come to Middle Earth like she was with her family.

Author's Note

I'm sorry for not updating sooner, a bunch of stuff happened that I won't bore you with the details of. But now I should be updating more frequently, so please don't give up on this story, I have big plans for it. SO now we have Nina almost back to normal, Kili healed, but now the mystery of her stabbing scar has come back into play. Also, next chapter will feature the dwarves at the mountain with Smaug, so that should be interesting. Also Erich needs to deal with Nina...

As always, please leave a review with your thoughts and until next chapter :)