The next morning the company were preparing to leave.
"You do know we're two short, where are Bofur and Solaris?" Bilbo asked.
"If Bofur's not here then we'll leave him behind but Solaris will be here" Thorin said.
Solaris had escaped from the crowds and was standing on the dock looking back in the direction they'd come from. She looked back over her shoulder and then forwards again. With a heavy sigh she pressed her lips together in an O shape and whistled. It was such a high pitched whistle that only she and the animals could hear it. A few seconds later a little bird flew into view and flitted down and landed on her finger. She whispered to it in Elvish and then lifted her hand into the air so that it could catch a breeze to fly away on.
"What are you doing?" a voice asked beside her. Bard came and stood by her side.
"I'm sending for help" she said.
"Help, help for what?"
"Kili, he needs proper healing. Healing that I cannot give him" she said.
Bard patted her shoulder. "I will look after him till your healer arrives"
"Thank you Bard, you have been a help" she said.
"I just wish you were not going into the mountain" he sighed.
"It's their home" she said "Everyone wants somewhere where they belong"
A horn then sounded. "I'd better go" Solaris said.
"Stay safe" he said and with a nod she left.
Solaris got to the boat just as Thorin was denying Kili entry.
"We must travel at speed. You will slow us down" she just caught Thorin saying.
"What are you talking about, I'm coming with you" Kili said.
"Not now" Thorin said.
"She put you up to this didn't she" Kili said crossly pointing at Solaris.
"She did not; everyone can see that you are not well"
"I'm going to be there when that door is opened. When we first look upon the halls of our Fathers Thorin" Kili insisted.
"Kili, stay here" Thorin said. "Rest. Join us when you are healed" he placed a hand on the back of his nephew's head.
"I'll stay with the lad, my duty lies with the wounded" Oin said.
"Uncle, we grew up on tales of the mountain. Tales you told us, you cannot take that away from him" Fili said grabbing Thorin's arm.
"Fili" Kili said.
"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 said.
Fili jumped from the boat and Thorin caught his arm "Fili, don't be a fool. You belong with the company"
"I belong with my brother" Fili said pulling free and walking over to Kili.
Solaris watched them with a heavy heart. "Go and say goodbye" Thorin said "Make it quick"
With a nod Solaris walked over to the brothers and Kili held his hands out for Solaris to take.
"I am sorry for raising my voice at you" he said.
"Don't be sorry" she said shaking her head and pressing his hands to her lips. Fili pulled both of them into a hug. "We will be together again" he said. "I know it"
"Solaris" Thorin called.
She sighed and kissed both their foreheads. "You will heal" she whispered to Kili.
"Go and get our gold" he said pulling her head to his lips one last time.
"Solaris now!" Thorin said crossly.
The horns and the cheering had already given Solaris a headache and the boat had barely sailed. She watched as Kili and Fili grew smaller and smaller in the distance.
"No" she whispered and stood but Thorin caught her arm.
"Your place is here" he said. He put his arms around her middle and she gripped onto them tightly. Her head hung forward and Thorin pulled her into his lap. She cried silently and he pressed his lips to the top of her head. He quietly began to hum 'Misty Mountains' to her. He knew she liked the song and that it had an affect on her. Back in Rivendell when she'd been asleep he had hummed it to her then and it seemed to help her sleep restfully. Gradually the longer he hummed the calmer Solaris became till she had her head rested against his chest and was watching the ripples of the water from the ores.
Once they had reached the mountain there was a long walk on stony ground till they got to a ridge and Thorin ran ahead. The others followed and the sight was astonishing.
"Oh my gosh" Solaris said breathlessly.
"What is this place?" Bilbo asked.
"It was once the city of Dale, but now it is a ruin. The desolation of Smaug" Balin said and Thorin turned away disheartened.
"We shall restore it to its former glory" Solaris said.
"The sun will soon reach midday" Thorin said "We must find the hidden door into the mountain before it sets, this way"
"Wait. Is this the overlook?" Bilbo asked.
"Gandalf said to meet him here and on no account were we to…"
"Do you see him?" Thorin asked. "We have no time to wait upon the wizard. We are on our own. Come!"
"Anything?" Thorin shouted to the others.
"Nothing" Dwalin replied.
"If the map is true, then the door lies directly above us" Thorin said holding the parchment out in front of him.
"Up here" Bilbo shouted.
They all looked up at a zigzag shaped staircase. "You have keen eyes Mater Baggins" Thorin smiled. He ran ahead and Solaris patted Bilbo's shoulder.
"Well done" she said.
Solaris and Thorin being the tallest in the company stood at the bottom of the stairs to give the others a boost up to the lowest stair.
"He will be alright" Solaris said as she watched Thorin's face "Kili, I know he will"
"We both know that the arrow was poisoned" Thorin said "Balin" he motioned for the oldest dwarf to jump up.
"You misunderstand" Solaris said "I sent a bird for help"
"Help from whom?" Thorin asked.
"An elf" she replied not looking at him.
"We shall discuss this later" he said cupping his hands. "Now jump up"
Once Solaris was up she turned around and gave Thorin her hand and pulled him up behind her.
The climb was long and hard but as soon as they were at the top they had no further to go as the place where the door was was right in-front of them.
"This must be it" Thorin said running over to the wall. "The hidden door. Let all those who doubted us, rue this day!" Thorin said holding the key up. The others all cheered and walked forward.
"Right then, we have a key. Which means that somewhere there is a key-hole" Dwalin said.
"The last light of Durin's day will shine upon the key hole" Thorin whispered.
Solaris sat back and let the dwarves search for the key hole. But concern started to grow as the sun started to set and no key-hole appeared.
"We're losing the light, come on" Thorin said.
"Be quiet, I can't hear when your thumping" Nori said as Dwalin started to kick at the stone.
"I can't find it. Its not here" Dwalin said.
"Break it down" Thorin yelled.
"Aye" Dwalin shouted.
"Come on!" Thorin shouted as they hit the door with their axes.
"Its no good, the door's sealed. Can't be opened by force" Balin said. "There's powerful magic on it"
They watched as the sun set and no key-hole appeared. "No" Thorin said looking at the map again. "The last light of Durin's day, will shine upon the key-hole" he said "That is what you're Father told us" Thorin said pointing at Solaris "Unless he lied"
"He did not lie Thorin" Solaris said rolling her eyes and resting her chin on her knuckles.
"Do not start an argument" Bilbo said stepping in-between the pair.
Thorin looked at Solaris and as she turned her head away he caught sight of the slightly raised scar on her cheek.
"What did we miss?" Thorin asked mellowing out.
The pain in his voice was heartbreaking but Solaris new he would flip at the slightest thing so she stayed quiet. "We've lost the light" Balin said. "There's nothing more we can do, we had but one chance. Come away lads, it's over"
"Wait a minute" Bilbo said "Where are they going? You can't give up now"
Solaris watched as Thorin let the key drop to the floor.
"There has to be something else" she said walking over to him.
"As Balin said, the light is gone" he said walking away and shoving the map at Bilbo's chest.
Bilbo and Solaris were left standing there alone. "I can't believe they've give up" she said. Solaris sat down and went through what her Father had said in her head. Bilbo did the same as he studied the wall.
'Stand by the gray stone, when the thrush knocks, the setting sun and the last light of Durin's day will shine upon the key hole'
Bilbo turned to look at Solaris who shook her head. She turned to look out over the mountain and the moon light shone into her eyes.
"Last light of Durin's day" she whispered. "Bilbo!"
"Moonlight, the last light" Bilbo exclaimed.
A small clicking noise started behind them and they turned to see a bird hitting what looked like a snail shell against the wall. Once the snail had cracked the bird chirped and flew away. The hobbit and the elf stood and watched as the light from the moon shone onto the stone wall and the small shape of a keyhole appeared.
"Oh my gosh, guys!" Solaris called and darted to the edge of the cliff. "Calling all Dwarves!" she shouted and they all looked up at her.
"Come back, it's the light of the moon, the last light of the moon of autumn!" Bilbo called. Solaris jumped back to the clearing and glanced around for the key.
"The key!" she exclaimed to Bilbo.
They both started to fumble around for the key in the dirt and grass. Solaris grumbled under her breath.
"Oh yeah, when there's food about their there, when there's ale about their first in line but when it comes to searching around in the dirt on all fours they suddenly disappear"
"Stop muttering to yourself and find the key" Bilbo said, he stumbled around and then they heard a chinking noise. They both watched as the key bounced towards the end of the cliff.
"No" Solaris exclaimed but a heavy leather boot stomped onto the thread the key was attached to. They looked up and saw Thorin and the rest of the dwarves.
"About time" Solaris grumbled and dusted herself down.
They all watched as Thorin put the key in the hole and turned it slowly. There was a thunk and everyone held their breath as Thorin pushed the stone door open.
"Erebor" he whispered looking into the darkness.
"Thorin" Balin said. The emotion was too much for him and Thorin patted his shoulder. Solaris stood at the back of the group and listened to Thorin's whisperings.
"I know these walls" he said "I know these halls, this stone. You remember it Balin, chambers filled with golden light?"
"I remember" Balin said following Thorin inside. One by one the dwarves made their way into the mountain.
Solaris remained outside the mountain. She didn't like the closeness of the air within the stone walls. She sighed heavily and sat back down on a rock and rested her chin on her knuckles.
After a while some of the dwarves came back out and settled down.
"Where's Bilbo?" Solaris asked.
"He's gone to retrieve the Arkenstone" Balin said.
"And once he gets the stone for you?"
"Thorin will be king" Balin said sitting down.
"What's so special about this stone?" Solaris asked.
"It is the only stone of its kind, the holder of the stone becomes the king under the mountain. It sat encrusted in the throne of Thorin's father and his father before him"
Solaris still didn't understand why the stone held so much power. She looked back out over the dark landscape and thought of Kili and how she hoped that the healer had received her bird. She also though of how worried Fili must be, now that they'd found the door she just wanted to get back to Lake Town.
"May I speak with Solaris alone?"
Balin and Solaris turned to look behind them and saw Thorin standing there.
"Off course" Balin said and slowly got to his feet.
Thorin patted the elder dwarf's shoulder as he passed and then took his place next to the elf.
"I can see that you are worried" he said. "Will your healer have reached him by now?"
"I hope so" Solaris said.
"You feel a great deal for my nephews" Thorin said.
"I have never met anyone like them" Solaris said. She smiled as she thought back to the first night they'd spent in a cave together. She'd called Fili a hedgehog and he'd smiled at her with his gleaming blue eyes. She then thought back to when Kili had kissed her and when she'd objected he just hugged her the whole night. She sighed heavily and watched the clouds.
"Who is your healer?" Thorin asked.
"Tauriel" she replied.
"The She-Elf from Mirkwood?" Thorin asked, his voice a mixture of disbelieve and shock.
"Yes, Tauriel could offer Kili far better healing than I could ever have done. I am not strong enough and besides she has an added advantage"
"And what's that?"
Solaris looked at him and smiled softly "She loves him"
"She loves him?" Thorin was now very confused.
"Yes, I could tell from the first time they laid eyes on each other. When we were in the cells in Mirkwood she sat outside of Kili's cell for ages and they just spoke. Then when Kili was shot in the knee she was the one who killed the Orcs attacking him. Tauriel is a very accomplished healer if she gets to him in time then Kili shall live and love"
Thorin didn't say anything while he processed this information. "I thought that you loved Kili" he said quietly.
"I do, just not in the way he wanted me to. Tauriel on the other hand…"
"I'm not sure how I feel about that" Thorin said and Solaris turned to look at him.
"If I and Kili were in love how would you have felt about that Thorin?" she asked getting defensive.
"That is different, I know you whereas I don't know this Tauriel"
Solaris smiled and turned back to the moon. "She is the perfect match for your nephew" she said quietly.
They sat in silence for a bit before Thorin spoke again. "What about Fili, you are close to him as well"
"Thorin why are you interrogating me about whom I might be in love with?" she asked looking at him with tired eyes. "Since when was this quest about love?"
Her eyes studied his face and his hers. He gently brought his hand to her face and brushed the scar he'd given her. "Are you in love with anyone?" he asked and before she could reply the ground underneath them shook. Thorin dropped his hand and they stood.
"No" he said picking up his sword and running into the mountain.
"Thorin!" Solaris called. She picked up her weapon and ran after him.
Anything 'The Hobbit' or 'The Lord of the Rings' related belongs to J.R.R Tolkien and Taureil belongs to Peter Jackson.
Again this was a really fun chapter to write, so Solaris and Thorin huh? :P Maybe or maybe not...
Love Mayday xx