Twenty minutes later everyone sat on a pony and the journey began without the burglar.

Nalia's Velveteen looked over the other ponies and Nalia knew that Vel thought of them as savage.

"Oh… come on luv! They can't be that bad!"

Velveteen snorted.

"She understands you." Assessed one dwarf.

As Naila looked at him a little bit confused he introduced himself as Bofur.

"Yes, she does. I guess we are made for each other."

"Seems so." Bofur laughed at this.

Nalia grinned.

"Well, you made quite a show yesterday."

"You think?"

"I do. I never saw someone this tough toward the king."

"Tell me, master Bofur, when you saw this… show… what were you thinking?"

"I thought he would throw you straight out of the door or snap your neck."

She laughed.

"Throwing a lady out of the door… Do you really think like that about me, Bofur? But I really thought about that neck-snapping thing. I think you're glad, lady Nalia, I did not!"

The other dwarfs laughed about their king's words as he took the lead.

Thorin looked back to her when she rolled her eyes and he grinned.

Half an hour after they sallied Bilbo Baggins hole, the hobbit reached them breathless, the contract in one hand and a big heavy looking backpack.

"Give him a pony!" ordered Oakenshield after Balin checked the sign under the long contract.

The day was long just like Kili had said and Nalia couldn't stop to observe the king. How he moved. Looked around. Sighed. Shook his head about the others behaviour. Talked with Gandalf or Balin.

She saw that he was not the same man she remembered. He lost everyone, everything that he cared about.

A bit like me but worse, she thought.

Gandalf who spoke to Thorin a few moments ago, held back his horse 'til Velveteen closed up with his sorrel.

"I think he likes you." Gandalf whispered not looking down to her but to the man at the head of the group.

The dwarfs were joking, laughing, singing and asking Bilbo things about the Shire so they didn't hear the little conversation between the she-dwarf and the wizard.

"Hmm… Does he ever smile?"

"He smiles when you are mocking at him."

"He doesn't like secrets, do he?"

"Why?"

"This morning he woke me and asked me again, why I'm joining that journey."

"He woke you by himself?"

"He did. I wonder about that too."

"Well, to answer your question… Who could bear not knowing something?"

She chuckled: "You're right. Especially a prince."

"Stop calling him prince. You know he has the right to be king."

"I thought a king must be crowned. I'm not evocative that he is!"

With that she leaded the white pony away from Gandalf to Thorin.

"What's about your steady face of misery?"

"Not your business."

"Forgive me, if I was not… appropriate."

He giggled: "Well, you never needed to apologise."
"Oh, ahm… In that case… Thank you for your kindness, milord."

"Why the courtesy? Had Gandalf forced you?"

"No… not exactly… But he sounded disappointed."
He laughed.

"So… if you are pleasant now, I'll ask you again. Who are you?"

"I'm Nalia. Warrior and owner of a white pony named Velveteen and you are in one of my many histories."

"A history you are not going to tell me."

"You're right, milord."

"You are not telling me who you are!"

"I told you who I am."

"You didn't tell me you story!"

"You didn't ask."

"Urgh! You're making me crazy!" He laughed again and she emulated his deed.

"Maybe this is my purpose."

"Maybe I should cage you somewhere that you can't come with us and can't fulfil your potential purpose."
"Would that be nicer than throwing me out of a door, prince?"

"Ah, there she is! Mocking again!"

"You like that?" Nalia laughed, "I have far more than that."

"Okay… then tell me the worst!"

"Hmm… I don't think I will. I guess you would kill me!"

"Oh come on… It can't be that mean!"

"It is! Believe me!"

"Okay… er… ah, I have an idea!" He turned to the others: "Kili come here. Lady Nalia thinks she has the worst… mocking sentence for me. She doesn't want to tell me. Could you hear it, please, and tell me if it's really that mean?"

"As you order, uncle."

Kili came closer a grin on his face.

Nalia leaned over to Kili one hand on his shoulder so she cannot fall of the white mare and whispered it into his ear: "He looks like he says whole time: OHH… Pity meee… My Grandpa's dead, my father's insane and disappeared… and I'm a prince… but I can't become king because I have no kingdom! Isn't he looking like that?"

From time to time he chuckled and when she leaned back he shook his head: "Trust me, uncle, this will definitely hurt your pride! But when I look at you… she's right. Oh, you wouldn't believe that!"

Kili laughed and shook his head again when her waited for his brother.

"You're making curious, lass!" Thorin looked down at her.

"Am I?"

"Yes you are. Please, if it would hurt my pride then just tell me what this is about."

"I will. It's about 'wanting pity', 'self-pity' and…" With the last one she looked up in his dark eyes, "… your eyes"

"My eyes."

"Your eyes."

"Well, then I'll have my own thoughts on that matter."

The next moments they just rode side-by-side, not talking and not looking at each other.

I made him smile, she fell into thoughts.

I made him laugh.

"We'll rest here." Thorin suddenly decided.

The sun was already gone and the air was chilly.

Nalia froze a bit when she dismounted Vel. Therefor she wrapped her cloak tighter.

Thorin assigned tasks to the dwarfs, to make fire, cook the food and care for the ponies.

She sat down and leaned back to the rock behind her.

The setting was great. She could see down a valley full of trees. The moon shined bright and the stars seemed to laugh about something the inhabitant of middle earth would never understand.

Dinner was over fast and then the dwarfs laughed and bet on something not so important.

Nalia never understood the preference of her race to that redundant game.

20 minutes later all thirteen dwarfs were quite, listening the crickets and deep in thought or fell asleep and snored loudly.

Bilbo stood up and went to the ponies.

He was out of the she-dwarfs field of vision.

Abruptly a horrible noise intersected the night-silence.

Nalia knew this was an orc.

She heard Bilbo, Kili and Fili talking but wasn't interested in the talk. The black haired dwarf lady only caught Bilbo asking what that noise was and Kili and Fili telling something about orcs who kill in the early morning and something that contains much blood with an ironic undercurrent.

"Do you think that's funny?" Thorin looked down at them, angry.

The two brothers muttered an apology as their uncle walked away to a position from where he could see the whole valley.

When she heard Balin telling the king has all right to hate the orcs and raising the story about Thorin and the pale orc she stood up, quickly searching for Velveteen.

This story about the prince who raked his grandfather she knew already and she was not a fan of it.

But Balins voice was too loud and she had to hear it again.

From the side she could see that Thorin seemed to grow with every single word. This story was for his pride just like water for plants.

When Balin ended with the words that this is a king at whom he could look at and who is entitle to be one, she couldn't help but snort with laugher: "Please!"

The male-dwarfs looked horrified at her, Thorin full of anger and Gandalf, like Bilbo, an eyebrow raised.

"Come on… if you keep telling him he is the greatest man in the world he will never see the truth! He not a god, he is just a dwarf without a home and here he is NOT better then anyone else. When he is back on his damn throne and CROWNED do what you want… but know…"

"Who are you to judge me?!"

"I will not tell…"

"STOP THAT DAMN GAME!" Thorin yelled.

"This is NOT a game, your serene highness!"

He made forward her.

"So, what can I do for you, PRINCESS? Should I carry you to the lonely mountain..."he began with a calm voice but getting louder and that sounded scary with his deep voice, "THAT YOU'LL FINALLY TELL ME?!"

She slapped him.

Her reaction brought silence. No dwarf snorted, everyone was awake and neither dared to move nor to make any speaking or breathing noise.

The king's face was away from her. He didn't move back out of the position her slap brought him in.

Leaning closer to Oakenshileds ear she whispered: "Don't try it, prince! You are not the only one who can fight. And as I said: you're just like any other person here. Don't expect special treatment from me."

With these words she turned and went to Vel. Next to her mare she lay down but didn't close her eyes.

Everything in him told Thorin to kill her, to hurt her like she did to him but in spite of that feeling he watched out for her.

This night Thorin Oakenshield's gaze never left the tender form of Nalia.