Thank you so much for all my awesome reviews, and welcome to the next chapter :) I hope you enjoy it!

Forgive any grammatical mistakes as ever!

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Chapter Thirty Three # The Waiting #

The pouring rain stuck Kíli's hair to his forehead as he knocked on the door of Esme and Saradoc's house, though due to the summery season it was warm enough. The rain began to ease and the sky grew a fraction darker while the young dwarf waited and he frowned, pounding on the door again.

"Esme? Esme let me in, it's pouring out here! Esme?"

Slowly, the door opened a little and a pair of familiar blue eyes stared out at him. "What do you want, Kíli?"

His friend asked softly, and Kíli frowned, putting a hand on the door.

"I want to come in."

"Why?"

Kíli frowned, affronted. "Because I'm concerned. Come on, I've walked all the way from home-"

She snorted softly. "Kíli, you live less than three minutes away."

"That's my girl." Kíli smiled softly as a tiny spark of Esme's usual fire shone through her murmured words. "Let me in, Esmeralda Brandybuck."

With a soft sigh, the woman opened the door and allowed the dwarf to walk in. "You shouldn't have come."

"Why not?" Kíli frowned, putting a hand on Esme's arm. "

Didn't Saradoc tell you? I'm sick."

"And I'm a dwarf. When have I ever got sick?" Kíli smiled softly, wrapping his arms warmly around his friend.

He felt her boy shaking as she returned the hug fiercely, her curls tickling his cheek as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"What's wrong, Esme? Tell me..." He murmured calmly, unsurprised when he heard a sob after the deep, shuddering breath that she had taken.

"Nothing!" She squeaked, and Kíli steered her around to the nearest sofa, gently forcing her to sit down next to him.

"Esme?"

Her tears had stopped before they even started and she took a deep breath, smiling weakly at her best friend.

"I feel utterly rotten, Kíli, and I...I..."

When she trailed off Kíli held her a little closer. "You what?"

"I don't know!" She shouted suddenly, startling the young dwarf. "I don't know what's wrong with me, Kíli! I just get so angry and upset and I shouted at Merry earlier and he…he cowered, Kíli, and I just…I don't know what to do! What sort of mother frightens her son?"

"What was he doing?" Kíli asked, making sure that his arm remained firmly around her shoulders.

She laughed humourlessly and dropped her head into her hands. "He was asking questions, the way all four year olds do. He kept on asking 'why' over and over and it drove me utterly insane!"

"Well he's more worried about you than scared of you, I can promise you that." Kíli swore, and Esme looked up at him sceptically. "He was telling me that you were very sick and very sad and that he is so very scared that something terrible is going to happen to you."

His words did nothing to console the agitated woman and she groaned, grabbing her hair at the roots as she buried her face in her hands.

Most young males of any species would have run for the hills at being confronted by such a distressed woman, but not Kíli Baggins. Instead, he just pulled her gently towards his chest.

"Come here…" he murmured with a smile. "I think it's probably just stress, Esme. It happens sometimes."

"It happens all the time… I've said some horrible things." She muttered, sniffing miserably.

Kíli just shrugged. "We all say awful things sometimes; it doesn't make us awful people."

"You always know what to say, Kíli." She smiled softly. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around."

Kíli just laughed. "Of course I know what to say. I am practically perfect in every way."

She rolled her eyes, wiping unshed tears away from the corner of her eyes. "Of course you are…"

"Now, I think I know why you're feeling so dreadful. When was the last time you went out, just for the fun of it?"

Esme sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she squeezed her eyes shut. "I don't have time for that anymore, Kíli, I have Merry and a house and-"

"Precisely what I thought." Kíli declared, jumping to his feet and grabbing the coat hanging by the door, flinging it over the hobbit woman before she could protest. Then he looped his arm through hers and began to march her out of the house. "We're going out."

"What? Kíli, it's the middle of the night, stop it!" she protested, trying to wiggle away. "And I'm ill."

"The sun set but an hour ago." Kíli protested, releasing her arm and offering her his hand instead. "Just to the secret tree?" when she hesitated, he spoke quietly. "You're not a housewife, Esme. We all know it, and we all love you for it. In order to stay sane you need to keep running and active. Saradoc pointed out just the other day that you go stir crazy without something to do. So come on."

With a sigh, the young woman followed her best friend out into the light shimmering rain, and they started to break into a run with quickly evolved into a race, their laughs travelling through the warm summer air. Kíli beat Esmeralda to the tree, but she beat him to the top, and when he joined her seconds later they sat among the topmost branches together and stared at the rising moon.

Glancing at his now rosy cheeked companion, Kíli grinned. "Feeling better?"

"Hush." She smacked him lightly.

"I hate to say I told you so…" Kíli teased, his playful taunt dissolving into chuckles when she glared at him.

"Thank you, Kíli. I needed this." She breathed in deeply.

"Just so that you know, Merry will be utterly exhausted tomorrow. Saradoc and Paladin have taken him for a boy's night down at the Green Dragon."

"What?" she groaned. "Why do none of the men in my life have brains?"

"I have many brains." Kíli protested, grinning smugly. "But I suppose your hobbit-y minds just cannot compete with my superior dwarven intellect."

"Oh, shut up!" she rolled her eyes, shoving Kíli's arm.

After shoving her back Kíli slung his arm over her shoulder, grinning at the most important girl in his life. He smiled at her thoughtfully, speaking the truth on his mind. "You know Esme, if you weren't so much like my sister I might have fallen in love with you myself."

She laughed brightly, studying him carefully and flicking his big nose. "I think I second that agreement, baby brother."

"Baby?" Kíli yelped indignantly. "You're the babe of this family, Esmeralda!"

"I most certainly am not. I am grown, married, in my own house with my own child." She nodded decidedly.

Kíli shook his head, though he secretly agreed that she was – in a strange, twisted way – older than him. "I was alive decades before you were born."

"Ah, but it's not about the numbers is it? It's about the age of the mind – which is why Merry will soon overtake you, too."

"Hey!" Kíli pouted playfully. "That's cruel."

"A little…" She admitted, kicking her feet in the same way they used to kick when she was a child. "Kíli, why aren't you out having a boy's night?"

The young dwarf removed his pipe from his pocket and lit it carefully. "Why aren't you?"

"I'm not a boy."

"It's never stopped you before." He looked at her carefully, before replying properly. "I'm looking after the little monster tomorrow and I would rather not do it hung-over."

"What?" Esme looked utterly confused, before her eyes opened widely. "It's that late in the month already?"

"It is," Kíli grinned, "Tomorrow you will have a lovely romantic evening – alone – with your beloved husband."

She smiled contentedly. "Thank goodness, I half thought the day would never come around."

"Of course it would!" Kíli scoffed. "As if I would ever give up a day spent with Merry."

"You're as much of a child as he is." Esme smiled fondly, and Kíli winked.

"So are you."

"Kíli?"

The young dwarf looked up from the medallion he was turning over and over in his hands, staring at the one who had torn him from his memory.

"Kíli, come and get something to eat." Fíli said heavily, his voice gentle as he offered his hand to his brother.

With a heavy sigh, Kíli took Fíli's hand and hoisted himself up off of the floor, though he did not release Fíli's hand when his brother's fingers let go of his own skin.

"What were you thinking about, Kíli?"

"Home," Kíli said simply, a small smile gracing his lips. "I was thinking of Esme, and the way she can't go two months without running around like a child or climbing a tree or something. She gets stressed if she doesn't. I was wondering what they're doing now, all three of them. I was wondering about Merry…"

Fíli was quite as they walked, and the confession forced its way out of Kíli's lips.

"Fíli, I'm not ready for a battle," Kíli admitted with difficulty, but his explanations were blocked by a crushing hug from his brother.

"Nor I…" Fíli whispered into the younger's ear. "But this time, I won't let you down, Kíli. I'll look after you."

"You always have." Kíli promised, laughing slightly as he pulled away from his brother. "Well, let us not say goodbye now like a pair of old women. We have at another two days or so, according to Gandalf, before the orcs get here. How long until Dain receives the message?"

Fíli thought carefully about the plea for help they had sent out several days ago. "He will arrive any day now, if he will come at all."

"That's quick…" Kíli remarked, leading the way into the Hall of Kings – the place that was still serving as their main base of operation.

Several days had passed since Gandalf had delivered the intelligence of the upcoming orc attack the mountain, but Kíli refused to count them exactly. Counting down the days towards inevitable doom was not something he wished to do.

The atmosphere in the mountain had been incredibly tense over the past few days. The elves were not spoken of – not after Thorin threw a gold dish at Fíli for daring to ask what was his uncle planned to do. Utterly shocked, Kíli had begun to protest, but Fíli had dragged him away and explained that it would only make matters worse and there was no harm done.

A single elven party had ridden to the door to negotiate with Thorin, but they had been stubbornly ignored until they rode back to their king with the news that the dwarves of Erebor were not to be seen as allies. Worse still, Gandalf supposed that Thranduil would likely rank them as potentially hostile, a guess that Kíli thought was probably most accurate.

The men of Lake-town had added to the tension by fearfully refusing to take sides, the lure of the gold of the 'generous' dwarves of Erebor keeping them from assisting their strongest ally but their fear of Thranduil and a loss of vital trade preventing them from defending the dwarves. Kíli did not envy their position one bit, but he knew that they were arming themselves – he prayed that they intended their weapons to attack only the orcs.

The orcs themselves were still a few days' march from the mountain by all accounts, but that did very little to appease the terrified Kíli, who had no desire whatsoever to be in a battle. He would much rather face those dreadful spiders again, or the starvation of Mirkwood or the solitude of its prisons or another round of torture in Goblin Town…

Yes, there was very little that Kíli Baggins would not have given to have the battle blow over entirely.

"Fíli, Kíli…"Thorin's deep voice drew the two boys away from their waiting food towards a little room off of the hall, and silently Kíli lamented the inevitable cooling of his dinner. "Come. We must fit you with armour."

"Armour?" Kíli asked in a tiny voice.

"You will not be running around a battlefield in your shirt, Kíli." Thorin's teasing would have been so welcome had it not been accompanied by the sickening golden glint in his eye.

Kíli could see Fíli biting his lip and he wondered what it was that his brother did not want to say, but he held his tongue while Thorin reached into a grand wooden chest next to him, pulling out two sets of full armour.

"We found these earlier," Thorin looked at them both seriously. "They should serve you well. Your hobbit has already been taken care of."

Fíli's jaw fell open as he took a pretty, shiny coat of chainmail from Thorin. "Is this…mithril?"

"It is." Thorin glowed with pride, placing a similar pile into Kíli's hands, grasping Kíli's arm fondly before addressing Fíli. "See to it that your brother tries the armour on. I doubt he knows what half of it is."

Kíli just blinked at Thorin's retreating figure, before placing the pile carefully back into the chest.

"I will try it on," Kíli promised, "Just, not now…"

Fíli nodded with a heavy sigh. "We shall do it tomorrow morning."

"Agreed." Kíli sagged with relief and waited for Fíli to return his own armour so that they could go and receive their dinner. "I don't have to worry about you and that shiny coat, do I?"

Fíli laughed, and his laugh was so natural – so Fíli – that it utterly erased Kíli's worry. "No, Kíli. That was healthy appreciation."

"Good," Kíli smiled a little as they entered the hall. "I'm glad. Hello, Bilbo."

"Here," The hobbit passed two bowls to the brothers, removing plates from the top of them first. "I tried to keep them as warm as possible without spoiling them on the fire, I had no idea how long you'd be."

"Thank you, Bilbo." Kíli said genuinely, sitting down as close to his hobbit as he could.

"Yes, thank you." Fíli agreed heartily, tucking into his stew with much gusto.

"I was thinking about the others earlier…" Kíli informed Bilbo sadly. "Paladin, Saradoc, Esme… You know, Fíli, you're still not my only sibling. I love you more than I can say, true, but you're not the only one."

Fíli smiled, reaching out to ruffle Kíli's hair. "As long as I'm your favourite, I can share. I want to meet them again, though, Kíli."

"Really?" Kíli perked up a little.

"Truly." There was no sign of a lie in Fíli's eyes. "If they mean that much to you, I want to know them."

"I think you're all related, all five of you." Bilbo teased softly. "Incorrigible troublemakers with an uncanny ability to worm your way into people's hearts."

"Kíli, lad…" Dwalin called gruffly, "Time to train…"

With a groan, Kíli heaved himself up from the floor, leaving his hastily finished dinner beside him. "See you later, if I survive."

After two hours of gruelling drills and another two hours of vigorous sparring, Kíli was more than ready to fall into bed, and he barely took note of where his hobbit was before he collapsed next to Bilbo, falling asleep before he could so much as shuffled beneath a blanket.

As the sun rose the next day, Fíli and Kíli went back to the large wooden chest, and Kíli watched his brother don his armour with much trepidation.

"There's so much of it…" Kíli worried when Fíli suggested he put his own armour on.

"It's not so hard." Fíli promised, picking up the first pieces of the deadly puzzle. "I'll help…"

By the time Fíli had finished, Kíli felt about a stone heavier, though his brother had told him that his armour was actually rather on the light side.

"You look like a warrior." Fíli's voice was a strange mixture of pride, fear and something else that sounded quite a bit like sorrow.

"Do I?" Kíli doubted that sincerely, until Fíli pulled him in front of a mirror.

Kíli froze, staring at the young dwarf standing stock still in the silvery frame. His feet were encased in tough boots and his legs were covered in thick, leather trousers. Fíli had forsaken much of the plated armour Thorin had produced, telling Kíli that it would be of little use with him so unused to the stuff. He had, however, given Kíli faulds – a band of metal plates to protect his hips and upper thighs. When Fíli had first put it on him, Kíli had felt rather stupid, but they did not look stupid in the mirror. They made everything feel so serious…

Brilliantly bright mithril served as his chainmail, and atop of that he wore a thick, dark brown tunic with no sleeves, allowing him easy movement in his upper body with his bow. Leather gauntlets covered his hands and lower arms, though his fingers were all bare to allow him easy use of his bow.

Fíli was right, he looked like a warrior.

"Dain has arrived!" Balin's joyous cry reached their ears from yards away and they looked at each other quickly.

"Fíli, Kíli!" Dwalin leant his head out of a nearby corridor. "Come on, quickly!"

Fíli nodded tightly and Kíli followed him nervously, unsure of what exactly was going on. Suddenly butterflies conquered Kíli's stomach as he realised that he would be meeting dwarves from outside of the company for the first time and he had no idea how to act.

He settled for standing next to Fíli behind Thorin, heartened when both his brother and his uncle smiled approvingly at him. It took an unsettling amount of time for Dain's army to enter the mountain, for they had been nearly an hour's march away when they had first been spotted, but they stood and waited behind the gate all the same until a tall, muscular dwarf with an incredible Mohawk and enough tattoos to put Dwalin to shame strode up to Thorin and shook his hand warmly.

"Thorin, my cousin! I offer you my greatest congratulations; it appears that your fool's errand paid off!"

Kíli was worried at how his more-irritable-than-usual uncle would react, but he merely smiled at the Lord of the Iron Hills.

"Thank you, Dain. We have reclaimed our gold as we said we would, but now we are in grave danger."

"As you said in your letter." Dain nodded, gesturing to the army behind him. "We are five hundred men or so, my best warriors and at your service, your highness."

Thorin inclined his head, and Dain barked out a sharp order that had his army marching through the gate and into the city so that the doors could be closed behind them. As soon as they were all in the Lord of the Iron Hills barked out another order and his dwarves stood in a slightly more relaxed posture.

Kíli just hoped that he was not trembling like a candle in the wind.

Now that the entire army was in the mountain, Dain turned his attention to the ones standing behind the king, predictably greeting Fíli first as the king's heir apparent.

"It has been too long, Fíli, son of Dís."

"Indeed, Lord Dain," Fíli said in an incredibly strong, mature voice as he smiled at the Lord. "Even longer, I believe, since you saw my brother."

Dain frowned at that. "Your brother…?"

Kíli glanced at Fíli quickly, completely unsure of how to act or what to say. Luckily, Thorin stepped in for him, pride rolling off him in waves.

"Two decades ago Kíli was lost to us, as you well know, but this journey had us find him again. He has far more strength than any of us could have guessed, and he survived the treacherous ride down the river and was rescued by the halfling, Bilbo Baggins, though he could remember naught of his past. The hobbit in question – now our burglar – raised the lad as his own, and by happy chance the wizard Gandalf recommended Master Baggins as a burglar to aid us in our quest. They have been invaluable." The king finished majestically, stepping aside to allow Dain to look at Kíli properly.

Completely unaware of how he should act, Kíli settled for smiling at Dain, who slowly shook his hand.

"Well, Master Kíli, it is good indeed to see you here. I suppose you have no recollection of me? You were not much more than a babe when we last spoke in any case." The eyes of the dwarf lord were fiery and fierce, but they were also strangely comforting and his smile was friendly enough, and Kíli decided that he quite liked Thorin's cousin as Nori sauntered up to Thorin, whispering something to him quickly.

"We have just received word that the orcs will arrive by sundown tomorrow." Thorin informed Dain gravely. "We must be ready to fight by then."

"My army will be ready." Dain promised, signalling with his hand for his soldiers to be at ease. "What of the elves?"

"You must work out a truce to fight with the elves, Lord Dain," Gandalf rumbled as he entered the room. "If you do not, I fear you will all be doomed."

"We have spoken on this already, wizard!" Thorin's voice was as sharp and dangerous as the sword his hand found home on, and Kíli fought the instinct to cower away from the looming clash between dwarf and wizard. "I shall not make a truce with those who are besieging us!"

"Do not tell me that you have abandoned all sense, Thorin Oakenshield?" Gandalf boomed back, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Think not of your gold, think of your people – of the ones who will follow you into battle no matter what. Surely you should give them the best chances possible?"

"I would not risk an allegiance with Thranduil if there was a sword in my own stomach!" Thorin rumbled in a dangerously low voice. Kíli glanced at Dain, but the hardened dwarf lord simply stared gravely at the scene before him. "He would likely order his people to stab us in the back the moment the threat was diminishing!"

"Do not be so blind, you foolish dwarf! Think on what you are proposing. Without Thranduil's assistance, you will be fighting an army of fourteen thousand orcs, goblins and wargs with just five hundred men."

"Fourteen thousand?" Bilbo blurted out from the side lines, his eyes meeting Kíli's fearfully.

"Indeed, Master Baggins," Gandalf nodded gravelly. "You will meet only a massacre."

Thorin's eyes flashed dangerously. "We will do what we have to do to protect our gold."

"Think of your nephews!" Gandalf's voice rose even louder as he pointed at Fíli and Kíli. Kíli's eyes widened and he shuffled uncomfortably. "Do you think Kíli will survive such a battle? Think of how little training he has. If you let him fight in this battle with those numbers I can guarantee you he will not come out of it alive."

Kíli blanched and Fíli stepped closer to him, putting a hand on his arm. Thorin glanced at the pair of them, and for a moment Kíli saw fear and affection swimming in his uncle's eyes, but then the madness returned.

"We fought in battles at a far younger age with as little experience as he has." Thorin returned with a growl.

"Thorin-" Fíli began, only to be cut off by their uncle.

"Silence, Fíli! I will not go to the elves for help."

Reluctantly deciding it would be time to try and help himself, Kíli piped up as strongly as he could. "Uncle, surely it's more sensible, the elves-"

"You know nothing of the elves, Kíli. You know nothing of the real world – you have been sheltered your entire life and it is time for you to grow up."

Bilbo stepped forward angrily but it was Fíli that shouted back. "Thorin!"

"It's alright, Fee…" Kíli murmured, before looking Thorin in the eyes. "I know far more than you think I do, Uncle. I know how it is to watch the ones you most love being torn away from you, I know how it is to be so lost that you do not even know what place you are trying to find." Well aware that they eyes of five hundred strange dwarves were upon him, Kíli slipped easily into fluent Sindarin. "And I know far more of the elves than you do. I know their tales and their songs and I know their histories. I know that some, such as Thranduil, are cruel and cold but I know that others have hearts that are true and heads that hold sense and justice. You should not be so proud."

With that, Kíli bowed at his mother's brother and then left the room, feeling Bilbo follow him. He was glad that Fíli did not as he rounded the corner and his cheeks began to burn. His anger had once again found an unsuitable outlet – he had probably just humiliated his already angry uncle and if Fíli had followed him it would have looked very bad for Thorin.

Yes, he was glad that Fíli stayed. He was glad that his brother could be the strong prince that he could not be.

"Kíli…" there was no discernable emotion in Bilbo's voice and Kíli turned, grabbing his hobbit into a huge hug.

"I don't want to die, Bilbo." He whispered quickly, and Bilbo's arms tightened around him.

"You won't, I promise. I won't let that happen." Bilbo murmured back, his hands stroking Kíli's hair comfortingly.

"Everything has gone so wrong…" Kíli lamented, feeling hot tears burning in his eyes despite himself as he and Bilbo sat down on a nearby bench. The stone beneath him felt too cold, and not for the first time Kíli yearned for the warmth of wood or grass. He sank down to rest his head on Bilbo's shoulder, drawing comfort from the smaller being.

"I know…" Bilbo murmured, resting his own head atop of Kíli's. "But we'll…we'll…"

"We're not going to be alright, Bilbo." Kíli admitted what his heavy heart had known for days. "Gandalf's right…I can't…I can't fight, not like that, and you! If I can't, Bilbo, then there's no chance that you'll be alright and if I lose you again…"

Bilbo swallowed, slowly putting his arm around Kíli's shoulders and drawing him closer. "You'll be alright. Fíli will look after you, and I've got that ring, remember?"

That did make Kíli feel a little better. "Promise me you'll wear it if you have to fight?"

"I promise." Bilbo nodded, stroking Kíli's hair quietly. "Whatever happens tomorrow, you are the best thing that ever happened to me, Kíli Baggins…"

Kíli closed his eyes. "No I'm not… If it wasn't for me you'd be at Bag End now… You'd be safe."

"I don't care where I'd be if I never found you. All I care about is that the past two decades have been the best two decades in my life, and no matter what happens I will always consider taking you in as the best decision I have ever made in my life." Bilbo murmured, and Kíli closed his eyes.

"I love you, Bilbo."

"I love you, too."

"Bilbo?" Kíli took a deep breath. "If something happens tomorrow, and you get out of it but I don't-"

Bilbo all but whimpered as he interrupted. "Kíli, please-"

"No, Bilbo please listen… If something does happen, will you tell the trio that I love them? And tell Merry that I'm so sorry? And bring presents for Pearl and the others?"

Bilbo was silent for a long moment, but finally he replied. "Of course… But that's not going to happen, because you're going to tell them all yourself, alright?"

"Alright," Kíli agreed quietly.

Heavy, distinctive footsteps alerted them to Dwalin's presence before he came around the corner and they both looked up at the imposing warrior.

When he spoke, however, Dwalin's eyes were softened by sorrow. "Kíli, lad, will you come with me? I can give you more training, some tips for tomorrow. You won't be dying in this battle if I have half a say in the matter. And Bilbo, you're welcome to join us if you want. We wouldn't want to lose our burglar now."

Kíli swallowed and nodded, standing up shakily. Bilbo stood up too, though he said calmly. "I think I'd rather watch, if that's alright Dwalin."

The warrior nodded, leading the two Bagginses into a nearby hall to train. The sparring match they launched straight into was far more vicious than usual, and it was obvious that Dwalin was trying to prepare Kíli for the battle ahead, something that scared the young dwarf far more than he would ever admit.

Suddenly Dwalin got the upper hand and then Kíli was on the floor, his friend's sword at his throat.

"I have to go." Bilbo said suddenly, and both Kíli and Dwalin looked at him in confusion. "I'll be back soon."

"Where are you going?" Kíli sat up with a frown, and Bilbo ran over, hugging Kíli tightly for a minute and smiling sadly.

"I'm going to talk to Gandalf."

"Oh, alright…" Kíli glanced at the floor. "I'll see you later?"

"Of course." Bilbo nodded at the two dwarves and left the room quickly.

"Come on lad, we can fix that hole in your guard there." Dwalin helped Kíli up carefully and the young dwarf sighed.

Meanwhile in the other side of the mountain, Thorin and Dain were finally speaking alone, smoking their pipes thoughtfully.

"He's a strange lad, your sister son." Dain spoke carefully.

"I blame the hobbit," Thorin growled darkly. "Kíli still looks at Master Baggins as though he is the centre of the universe."

"I like him." Dain protested likely. "Kíli seems to have a queer approach to life, indeed, but he seems like a nice enough lad. And he has a spark about him, Thorin. You should be proud. Though it is a little odd that he speaks elvish."

"I am proud – though not of his affiliation with that foul tongue!" Thorin growled. "But it is time for him to leave behind his childish view of the world. He is too naïve – it will get him hurt. Again, that is the fault of the hobbit – I believe Master Baggins would trust anything that feeds him."

Dain snorted. "A bit like a young dwarf I used to know…"

Thorin glared harshly at his cousin. "That dwarf died with his brother in the battle of Azanulbizar."

"Aye, that he did…" Dain murmured quietly. "Thorin, the wizard's point, however unattractive, is a good one. We could use the help of the elves – no one wants another victory like Azanulbizar."

Thorin remained quiet out of respect for his cousin but then he shook his head. "No, I will not go to them. Should they seek allegiance with me, perhaps I would make a truce, but I will not run to them like a damsel in distress."

"Very well…" Dain nodded, looking around the vast hall of gold they stood in. "So be it."

Neither dwarf noticed the invisible hobbit sneak past, his heart heavy from his talk with the wizard but his mind set in determination, the hope that he may yet be able to save his son and friends burning in his mind.

Bilbo Baggins had a plan, and he prayed that it would work with all his heart as he slipped out of the mountain and began to run to the nearby camp of the elves. With Thorin's volatile behaviour he had no idea if it would work or not, but it was all he could think of doing other than stealing the Arkenstone itself, and that was not something the hobbit wished to do.

So, what is Bilbo's plan then? I wonder if anyone has any ideas?

I hope you enjoyed that chapter – I just wanted to note about the mithril coats – I can't imagine Thorin giving Bilbo a gift like that without first making sure that his sister-sons had armour of the same quality.

I hope I didn't butcher Dain, he will be important later. The bit with Esme may seem a little random, but the stress + unknown reasons + climbing trees all comes from experience, so I hope I've succeeded in giving a little insight into the brother/sister relationship Kíli and Esme have (for it is entirely platonic between them, despite their teasing ;) ) and a little more depth for her character as well.

Well, it's all getting crazy now, review and let me know what you think!