If I had learned anything about anything on this journey thus far, it was this: climbing mountains is tiring and boring. With every step the path became steeper, and yet we were only moving gradually higher – surely we must be nearing the summit now? Alas, no, we were barely half way up the first mountain, still following that infernal path that seemingly lead to nowhere. We had not even reached the snows of the higher mountain yet and it was almost nightfall on the second day. Mountains were definitely not something I would explore again once this is over, I think I'll stick to visiting Elven villages or having adventures in the woods, at least then there were things to look at and to do. Here all we could do is keep moving and stare out at the same grey peaks as we had done since we set to at the mountain's base.

That was not the worst of it. It was incredibly cold, bitterly so, and to top it off; it was raining harder than I had ever felt it in my entire life. Great rivulets of water drowned half our path and though they were no deeper than the sole of my boot, they made that part of the walkway slippery beyond belief and thus we were forced to walk single file along the walls of the mountain. I was made to struggle along a little nearer the rear as the mountain twisted around to the left. If I did not know better, I would have thought Thorin ordered me back for my safety.

"So you honour us with your presence again?" Kili muttered, a playful smirk dancing on his lips.

"You have to interact with a peasant at some point," I shrugged.

Kili's grin faltered, "You are no peasant, Vey."

"Who said I was the peasant?" I teased lightly.

I laughed at his baffled and a little bit offended expression, I do not think he had a response to that.

"I was joking, don't take everything I say seriously." I hastened to note, not wanting the Dwarf to be upset with me again.

"Oh," He said simply, I think he was slightly embarrassed, or at the very least still confused.

Fili clapped him on the shoulder a wicked twist of a smile at his mouth, "He cannot help it, he always takes a woman seriously when he-"

I never heard the rest of what the blonde brother had to say tough as it was suddenly no longer just raining, but there was thunder too, and that drowned out whatever the Dwarf's words were. Oddly enough there could be seen no lightening, maybe the storm was a long way off?

Sadly, I was wrong. There were more crashes of thunder but still no lightening. Boom after boom, they followed one another without pause. Instinctively I hugged my back to the way as though the lightening would appear and strike me down. I had always hated storms since we so rarely have them in the Shire, but when they did hit they would take out so much of our farmland that an entire village would have to pitch in and help repair everything. I just hated the way the wind would rattle the windows as though it wanted to come in and sweep me away.

I think, had it been anyone else staying so tight to the wall and being so obviously frightened, the brothers would have laughed at them; something in my eyes must have told them that was a bad idea as they did no such thing. Kili even placed a reassuring hand upon my arm and urged me forward and Fili moved in front of me so that he could see if anything would happen and shield me from it. A small part of me knew I should thank them, but my breathing was so erratic that all I could do was keep my feet moving in time with theirs.

"We should find somewhere to make camp," Gandalf advised over the roaring winds.

The crashing continued and it was then that we saw the storm for all that it was.

"This is no thunder storm, it's a thunder battle!" Thorin announced.

He was right, now we could all see. Humongous stone men emerging from the mountain opposite us, I had thought them to be parts of the mountains. My mistake. They were taller than the mountains themselves and at least half as broad. That is not what worried me though, what worried me was the fact that they were aiming large chunks of mountain at one another. So that is what all the noise was, it was no storm at all, not really.

"The legends are true!" Bofur gasped, astounded. "Giants! Stone giants!"

That is what they must be. Not that I had ever thought such a thigh could really have existed, back home they were a thing of fancy tales and fairy stories, then again; so had dragons. And these giants were certainly very real. Each piece of mountain they threw at one another either collided with the target, making them stagger, or it went crashing into the mountains. Each blow above us sent cascades of rocky debris raining down on us. I was very glad to be against the wall already, though I was somewhat surprised when both Fili and Kili used their bodies to shield me from any shards and stones that may head in my direction. Touched by the gesture as I was, I could not concentrate on what it might mean. The next rock launched hit only a few feet from the back of our line, crumbling away a large area of our path.

"We must find shelter!" Gandalf urged, even he struggling to be heard over the chaos and leaning heavily upon his staff.

I could not agree more, however, I could see nowhere possible for us to do so. And then things got worse. Much worse. A crack appeared underneath my feet, opening wider and wider. We were certainly in the wrong place, I realised; we were perched upon the knees of another giant. I stepped to my right, away from the gap and grabbed Kili's arm and tried desperately to pull him onto the side where the rest of us were, but an oncoming boulder forced me to let go, shattering my arm. Fili hauled me back from the edge I was teetering upon.

"Kili!" I screamed, hoping I would hear him, hoping that he would be okay. I could see nothing of him at all. "Kili!" I wailed again when no answer came. I could not move. Kili was gone, he could not be gone. A fear filled my very soul, none of us would survive without him. I would not survive without him. My arm hung limply, I could not move it without gasping in excruciating pain, but it was not nearly as damaging as the thought of life without Kili.

Fili forced me against the side of the giant as it began walking, the shuddering motion would have been enough to dislodge me had the blonde brother not done so. I was still calling Kili's name, though now it had lost all its ferocity, the shouts becoming sobs of decreasing strength. Fili had not joined my voice, but I could see him craning his neck in an attempt to catch sight of the missing brother.

There was a blow to our giant's chest and it was sent staggering back into the mountain, it broke a shard from the peak and sent it flying like a stone spear into the heart of the attacker. The offending giant took a heavy fall and struggled to get up for a long while afterward.

"Vey! Fili!" A cry echoed. Kili. He was alive.

I pushed Fili back an inch or two and strained to scan the opposite knee of our giant. There he was, small and distant, but perfectly okay. I had not noticed the tears I had been leaking before I had spotted him, now they were replaced by a relieved grin. He was okay. I could not even imagine what I would have done after this had he not been, I am not quite sure how I would cope without seeing his playful grin every day.

"Kili!" Fili shouted back in relief, I had tried to answer him myself, but a stubborn lump lodged in my throat refused to let any sound past.

The giant took a shaky step with the Kili laden leg, the Dwarf clung onto the stone behind him, too sharp a jerk could dislodge him easily. At the very same moment one of the other rock-made giants aimed a colossal boulder that ripped that very limb from our giant. The knee came crashing into ours, sending the youngest Dwarf sailing into our midst and landing heavily on top of Oin and Bifur as our leg fell back to the path. The Dwarf scrambled off of his companions, patting a very frightened Bilbo on the back. Another boulder struck right above us, sending a shower of sharp pebbles raining over our heads in a deluge as harsh as the real rain.

"Back to the mountain," Gandalf ordered. "Hurry!"

We did as told, Fili hauling his brother to his feet and pushing me along in front of them. Thorin bid us to huddle under a sharp outcrop of rock. It did not seem very safe to me, though I suppose it was better than being stuck back on the giant's knees. Once more I was buffeted away from the brothers, something that I definitely did not want. I was desperate just to be near Kili again and yet I had not even had the chance to look at him properly after he had been thrown back to the Company. I wanted to shout to him, to tell him I was glad he was okay, more than glad really; I was the happiest I had ever been in knowing he was still with us. I could not speak though still, my mouth was completely dry and that pesky lump was only getting bigger by the minute. The Dwarves and Gandalf began discussing whether or not it would be wisest to get off the mountains now and go around or to find somewhere in which we could stay the night. I would much rather wait until these stone creatures had gone to sleep to evacuate, but I know any input I have right now would be dismissed by everyone.

"Fili, Kili." Thorin gathered them. "Look for a cave we can shelter in, be careful to search every corner; goblins are crawling in these parts." The brothers nodded and set out with no argument or complaint.

No. he could not send them away, not when we had only just gotten Kili back. It was not fair. A part of me knew that it was the two youngest sent out to scout because their eyes were still sharp, what with them being able to see far better than the rest, and yet another part of me argued that those were the people we needed to make sure were with us at all times to ensure our safety. Though I knew well that the latter argument was mainly biased by my not wanting to have either of them out of my sight again.

"Where's Bilbo? Where is our little Hobbit?" Asked Bofur out of the blue, wringing out his hat as best he could only to have the rain soak it through the second he replaced it on his head.

I ran my eyes over the bodies around me, unable to spot my cousin amongst them. "Bilbo?" I bellowed testing for a reply.

"Over here," He replied distantly and strained, only – I could not see where 'over here' was.

"There!" Dwalin gaped pointing off to the side.

Oh no. Bilbo was 'there' indeed. Two little hands clutched tightly at the edge, stained white both from the cold air and the exertion of his grip. Quicker than I would have been able, Thorin was over the edge following the Hobbit. He was the last person I would have expected to risk his life for Bilbo; he and the Hobbit shared no great love for one another. For a moment I thought we had lost not only our burglar and my cousin, but our leader too. Luckily, we did not. The Dwarf heaved the Hobbit into the waiting arms of Balin, whom easily hoisted Bilbo up and onto our ledge.

Alas, it was then that Thorin's hand slipped and I thought all hope was lost. I should have known the Company better than that. With a speed to rival Thorin, Ori and Gloin had thrown themselves to the cliff, hurling their arms around their beloved king. Bombur joined to help them bring Thorin back to the safety of our shelter.

"I thought we'd lost our burglar!" Dwalin exclaimed in relief, clapping the Hobbit over the shoulders.

Thorin huffed, "He's been lost ever since he left home. He should never have come. He has no place with us."

Thorin's words were harsh, he had not even been quite so hard on me. What reason did he have to single my cousin out so horribly? Usually he would have saved such a tirade for me. Bilbo appeared visibly hurt by those comments, I knew he would be even more upset than he let on, the little fellow always tried to hide any negative feelings for the good of others. Thorin was way out of line, my cousin had just had a near death experience and this Dwarf was degrading him in front of the entire Company. If it were not for Gandalf subtly placing a hand upon my shoulder I would have had a few choice words with our dear old leader, but the cold warning in Gandalf's grey-blue eyes told me it would only do Bilbo more harm if I were to interrupt. Instead of hurling words at Thorin, I focussed on ways of holding my arm close to me without making it feel like my arm was about to fall off or having it spasm which always resulted in a mass of shooting pains flooding my entire body. My arm was shattered like glass and all in the attempt of keeping Kili with us. It had not done much good at all, Kili was returned to us in the end anyway, my injuries were all for nought. And to top that off, I was the only one of the Company to sustain so much as a bruise, I had concluded that Dwarves were pretty much invincible.

It felt like an eternity passed us whilst the youngest two brothers were out searching, each crash of a boulder brought fresh images of a new injury of death befalling the missing two. They were crushed by rocks; splintered by shards; severed by Orc knives; strung out by goblins. I could not stand it. The throbbing of my arm increased every moment they were gone. Gandalf had concluded that it was broken, but until we could get into some sort of dry space, there was nothing he could do for me.

After what must have been at least half an hour, the two returned, grinning as though they had made the discovery of an Age.

"We have found a cave, no more than half a league down the path." Fili announced proudly.

Kili nodded, "It's vacant, no sign of anything in there."

Thorin bobbed his head in acknowledgement, looking slightly impressed with the two, but not too much; he would not want them feeling as though they had actually done something right. That would be just awful for him. "Lead the way," He instructed.

We were thrust back out into the worst of the rain, by now I was soaked right through to my undergarments, I should maybe have left my cloak in my bag, at least then I would have had something dry to put around me. The walk was not long, the cave was nearer than I would have thought and larger. It would have satisfied the needs of a company far greater than our own.

Thorin gathered us into a circle once we were all safely out of the winds and rain. "We will sleep here, I will permit only a small fire." He announced.

Gandalf frowned, "I would suggest no fire at all."

"I will not have my men freeze." Thorin countered, turning his back on the wizard to let him know that there would be no argument. He began quizzing the brothers on how thoroughly they had searched this cave, they really had not been gone long enough to have inspected every inch of it.

I knew the fire would be a welcome comfort, but I could not deny that Gandalf's advice made sense; if these lands were as filled with Orcs as Thorin said, then surely it would be wiser not to give away our location with a fire especially seeing as the only exit from this cave was also the entrance. But, as always, Thorin knows best and the fire was lit. I could not think about that for long, however, as Kili's warm chocolate eyes had finally found me; his gaze burning through me, consuming me. I did not even notice my arm any more. All I was capable of taking note of was him and those eyes.

He silenced his uncle, something I doubt uncle Thorin had ever experienced before, or so his dumbstruck expression hinted when he gaped openly at his nephew. The leader would certainly not be happy about that later and, as Kili was striding toward me with a purpose I had not seen him possess before, I could tell I would be in trouble with Thorin later and that was before I noticed the King's new disgruntled frown.

"Vey," Kili whispered, half a foot from me, a grin playing at his lips. "Mahal, it is good to see you."

I closed the gap and pulled him into a tight hug, hissing slightly at the pain it caused my arm to do so, but I did not let go; not for a long time. Kili was most definitely confused by the gesture, did Dwarves not hug? Timidly, he wrapped his arms around me before gradually relaxing. I could not say how long we stood like that without saying a word to one another, me breathing in his scent of earth and wool and something else entirely is own. Eventually though, I had to pull away if only to see his face again. He kept one arm around me and I did not mind in the slightest; Kili was alive and he was well, that is all I cared about. Well, that and the fact that my right arm was about to drop off. I grunted as I tried to find a comfortable position in which to hold it away from myself.

"Your arm," Kili gasped, taking it gently into his calloused hands with a surprisingly touch that I had never expected from any Dwarf, "You should have told me you were hurt." He scolded, though not in a way that I would feel as though I were really being told off, in a way that told me he would be internally berating himself for not having noticed sooner or having prevented it in the first place. Silly Dwarf.

"It mattered not," I assured him, it really did matter now however; it hurt more than anything I have ever known.

Gandalf was beside me before I could even ask, I had a feeling he had been waiting for the exchange between the Dwarf and I to finish before he interceded and no matter how much my arm pained me, I was glad he did.

Gandalf sat me down to lean against the cold cave wall, taking my injured arm and stretching it out – I would have cursed from the stabbing, shooting bursts if it had not been for Kili holding my other hand tightly. I was half aware that he had sat down beside me, yet I could not concentrate on him for once, my arm felt as though it were being ripped apart from the inside. How was it even possible for something to hurt this much?

Gandalf prodded my arm, using great care in trying not to hurt me further, but no matter what he did the pain found me regardless. "Your arm is broken here, here and here." He indicated by tapping each break so lightly, he barely touched my skin. "I can help it heal overnight, but it will be painful and I'm afraid our stocks of herbs are all but non-existent,"

I nodded for him to do whatever he needed. One night of pain to save many weeks seemed an easy price to pay, especially since it means the bones would set in their proper place. The wizard stared up his magic, stealing light from the rest of the room with his voice alone. He muttered and chanted strange words and incantations that I would have guessed to be some form of Elvish, for Elves were the only true magical healers of this world. His tones filled the air, dark and mysterious and yet they were lined with hope and wonder at the same time. My arm grew heavier and the bones felt as though they were being sanded down and knitted back together, all the while it felt like molten lava was filling the veins of my arm in an effort to force the bones to set before they were ready.

I do not know exactly when I fell unconscious, it may have been after Gandalf forcibly pushed an offending bone back into place or it may have been when I saw the lump said protruding bone made in my skin. I do know, however, that when I woke, I was surprisingly warm and my arm felt as light as a feather. It must have been the middle of the night as in front of me I could see sleeping Dwarves and Bofur keeping watch. I also noticed a band of warmth across my stomach, a slumbering Kili had slung a protective arm about my waist. The gesture made me blush, silly really that such a thing could make me feel like there were tiny butterflies inside me, untangling all the knots and stresses of this journey. There were two blankets over us and a cloak, Kili must not have worn his in the rain, clever smug Dwarf. I noticed that mine was not around me, nor was my coat; my shirt, trousers and boots remained. I spotted the two missing items by the dying embers of our fire along with the coats and cloaks of many others. Kili must have removed them when I passed out, I do not think Gandalf would have done that, it would seem inappropriate from him. Although, I suppose being undressed, no matter how minorly, by someone I had only known for about three months was not really appropriate either.

He mumbled something incomprehensible in his sleep, wrapping his arm tighter and pulling me that little bit closer. Unconsciously, I found myself snuggling back into his warmth – I could try and pretend I was merely cold, but I would not fool anyone at all, I just wanted to be nearer to him. This was all probably terribly inappropriate for a prince and yet I could not bring myself to care what the others would think of it, nor what they would think of me.

Occasionally he would mutter something else, always in the mysterious Khuzdul, instead of finding it unnerving as some might, the soft delicacy with which he spoke the words and phrases made them into sounds almost as beautiful as Elvish singing, but twice as special coming from Kili. I made a mental not to see if he remembered anything he might have said, it would be interesting to know what was going on in his dreams.

I tried to go back to sleep, but unfortunately I had always been the type of person whereas once I had woken, I could not find sleep again. It was really very frustrating, I wanted so badly to fall back to sleep beside the Dwarf and yet I had to suffer being awake while he could sleep in peace.

Over by Bofur I could hear Bilbo stirring in his bedroll; tossing and turning as though the cave floor were a bed of nails. He, too, was muttering away to himself, though he was clearly awake and I could understand his murmurs. It was not nearly as cute as Kili's calm whispers; these were hushed and hurried thoughts, filled with concerns and unease. He chattered on to himself in a low whisper about home and his garden and his armchair and how much he missed cups of tea. I suppressed a giggle, he had always been one for home comforts and such. My cousin had always been the homely type, he did not even like staying the night with the Tooks all that much and would avoid it wherever possible, even when it meant him walking all the way back to his Hobbit hole in the middle of the night. I supposed it would be nothing much to worry about, Bilbo of all people was bound to miss his home at some point. Having said that, I did become slightly concerned when he got up, bag in hand, and tried to creep past Bofur.

"Wait!" Bofur called, "Just where do you think you're going?" He leapt up, alert as a meerkat and looking just as comical as he did so.

I could not hear Bilbo's reply to that, try as I might. Kili's arm was like a vice and whenever I tried to squirm away he'd pull be back humming a complaint in his slumber.

"But you can't leave!" Bofur was arguing.

Bilbo's voice was stronger this time, and I could hear him, "I am going back to Rivendell." He said in his best manner of finality.

"No. No. No. You can't turn back, now. You're part of the Company. You're one of us." Bofur tried desperately. I wanted to assure my cousin too, but I did not want to risk waking Kili this late in the night.

Bilbo sighed, dragging a hand down his face. "I'm not though, am I? Thorin said I should never have come, and he was right. I'm not a Took, I'm a Baggins. I don't know what I was thinking. I should've never ran out the door." Thorin knows nothing! Even I know that. I wanted to scream at Bilbo for thinking like that, I wanted to scream at Thorin even more so for making my cousin think like that.

"You're homesick, I understand." Bofur tried to reason with him, physically blocking Bilbo's path now.

"No, you don't! You don't understand, none of you do; you're dwarves! You're used to...to this life, to living on the road, never settling in one place, not belonging anywhere!" Bilbo ranted unthinkingly. I winced, my body growing rigid; that was entirely the wrong thing to say to a group of Dwarves on a quest for their homeland. "I'm sorry. I didn't..." He amended.

Bofur waved his apology away. "No, you're right. We don't belong anywhere."

From my position I could clearly see Thorin, his eyes wide; he was awake and most definitely listening. Why did he not stop Bilbo? I know my cousin could be a liability sometimes, but he was loyal. If Bilbo leaves right now we will all regret it, every one of us.

The stillness behind me told me that Kili was also silently watching the exchange. He reached my hand and took it into his, I accepted gratefully and gave his a small squeeze of thanks which he returned by wrapping his other arm around me too. My distress must have been obvious to him, either I was giving a lot away via just body language or he knew me too well. It was probably the latter, on our long treks I had often mentioned that Bilbo was my closest family member now and how I had wanted to look after him despite his being so much older than me.

"I wish you all the luck in the world. I really do." Bofur told the Hobbit, patting him on the arm as he let him pass.

"Thank you, really." Bilbo answered, "Please- I know I have no right but – please promise me that you will look after Veyra for me. It would be cruel of me to take her with me, especially now."

Bofur smiled weakly, "The lass is always safe with us, my friend." He chuckled, "I doubt the Great Worm himself could take her from us now."

Great tears were snaking down my face and onto Kili's arm, they were the silent kind, the ones that creep up on you so that you only realise they're there when they reach their full, hot flow.

Bilbo snickered in relief, "I do believe you are right. Good bye, my friend."

Bofur bowed his head, then cocked it to the side, "What's that?" He questioned, indicating the strange blue glow emitted by the tiny sword that Bilbo had pillaged from the Troll hoard.

Bilbo's face fell, "Trolls!" He whisper-shouted.

A great snapping echoed throughout the cave. Thorin's eyes caught mine and then flew to the side, inches from my head, I followed his gaze only to wish I had not. Beside my head the ground was cracking, the sounds still bouncing from wall to wall around us. Evidently Kili had seen it to, he snatched me up from the floor. He made me put my cloak and jacket on, reminding me that I may have need of my weapons.

"Don't get them out just yet," he warned in a growl. My head swirled, not was not the time to remember how attractive his voice was.

He did the same as he had made me. The crack in the ground had run from one wall to the opposite by now and was steadily widening.

"Wake up. Wake up!" Thorin was shouting, heaving each Dwarf to his feet.

A flash of light flared, blinding me momentarily and then it was gone and the world was moving diagonally. No, we were moving diagonally; it soon became impossible to stand in place, my feet were sliding toward the crack. The floor was tipping it was actually moving, fighting to dislodge us and deposit us into whatever awaited.

Where was Gandalf? I could not find him in our crowd, he was gone. The wizard had deserted us in our hour of need. Suddenly all of Thorin's grumbling about wizards being unreliable made sense to me now, I cursed the wizard inwardly. Without him, we were truly done for.

Sorry if I stretched this out longer than necessary, it was kind of boring, but don't worry I have lots in store when it comes to the goblins and Mirkwood.

The song is Mountains - Biffy Clyro.