"Kili, we can't save him. We have to go."

He gazed at me for a few seconds, dark eyes darting across my face. He met my eyes, and his own darkened. My heart crawled into my throat as turned away, and I froze as he spoke. "No."

"Kili—"

He cut me off with a wave of his hand, a scowl disfiguring his face. "No, Aeyera!" He was shouting now. I didn't understand. He had been fine a moment ago—why was he so angry now? "I am the prince!" he gestured to himself, throwing his hands in the air. "I can't run away like a coward!"

I tried to speak calmly, tried to speak reason into him, but my panic and fear twisted my words. "You are not a coward. Kili, if you stay here, you will die. Your brother will die—Your uncle will die! Do you not see that? It is not cowardice to save the ones you love." My voice lifted in volume and in pitch, and I spoke desperately, begging him to see reason. "My mind has gone before, Kili! I know what madness looks like. I have felt it firsthand. Thorin has been taken by it!"

"No," he said, backing up. He was afraid now, and his fingers grasped at the stone as though he were trying to claw his way out of the mountain. He looked like a cornered animal. "If—If we just find the Arkenstone—"

"It will seal his fate, Kili." I stepped up and gripped his hands in mine. They were cold, and that worried me. Always his hands had been hotter than mine, but now they felt like ice. "Perhaps it is better it is not found." I touched the betrothal braid in his hair, then moved my fingers to rest against his cheek. "My love," I whispered. "I will not allow you to die. I made a promise to protect your family, and I will keep it until my final breath."

He let out his breath and rested his face against my hand. He reached up and captured it in his own, and I could feel him shaking. "Aeyera, I cannot go against Uncle. You know this already. I am not as brave as you to rebel against my king."

My heart broke. He—he was choosing them over me. "Kili—"

He looked up and met my eyes, silencing me. "However, I will not allow either you or Fili to come to harm. If it comes to it, I will stand against him. I will fight. For you."

"Kili." I stepped forward as he wrapped his arms around me, and I embraced him tightly, pressing my face into his neck. He wasn't wearing armor today, and I could feel his chorded muscle shifting as he breathed. His heart drummed against his chest, its beat matching my own.

"I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered into my hair, pressing his hand into it and twisting his fingers in the dark brown locks. "I promise."

The dream shifted, and suddenly I stood upon a battlefield. The necklace that symbolized my immortality hung heavily around my neck. Everywhere I turned I saw death. Carrion crows circled above the field, cawing to one another, but the Erebor ravens kept them at bay. I kept my eyes out for two, the only two I should have been protecting; the two I had been separated from: brothers, inseparable in life—and in death.

I caught sight of a familiar blue tunic and began to run towards it, limping as quickly as I could on my mangled leg. There were no orcs left alive. I passed the bowman, Bard, on his way back to his camp and ignored him. The tunic grew clearer. It was Kili's. I began to sprint as best as I could, taking deep, shuddering breaths as I hurried towards my fiancé.

After an eternity, I reached him. He lay beside his brother, whose dark grey tunic was soaked in blood, both orc and his own. Fili was unmoving, face streaked with sweat and dirt and blood, but I knelt beside Kili, whose face was as pale as death. I pressed my quaking fingers against his neck, checking for a pulse.

"Kili, Kili, Kili—" I murmured his name over and over again, running my hands over his face and hair over and over again. "It's okay, you'll be okay—"

I looked up in time to see a figure in all grey pass by close to where I sat. "Gandalf!" I screamed. He turned and saw me, then began to hurry towards me, lifted his staff out of the way as he came.

I looked back down at Kili, the one I loved. "Wake up," I whispered. "Please wake up."

"Wake up, Aeyera. Wake up."

My eyes fluttered open to reveal Kili's grinning face. "Good morning, Princess." His teeth shone in the early morning light, and his eyes twinkled. His hair was mussed from sleeping on the ground, and bits of grass stuck to his beard and bangs. He never looked more beautiful. I sat up, and he followed me until we sat cross-legged, facing one another. I winced at the pain in my back but shrugged it off. The lashes my father had given me were healing, and he would never touch me again.

I gave him a tentative smile, suddenly shy. "Hello."

He gestured to the sunrise. "I thought you night like to see it," he told me, watching me carefully as I turned my eyes to stare at it, my breath catching in my throat. The pale blue sky was streaked with gold and rose coloured clouds, with violet ones in between. The smooth lake, no longer interrupted by the people of Laketown, was nearly flawless, and the sun's twin stared up at it from the depths, its own rising mirroring the original is all its glory. Behind me, the last of the stars still shone, along with the moon, which was setting behind the Misty Mountains. It was a truly breathtaking sight.

"It's beautiful," I told him, my voice as soft. A delicious breeze lifted my hair and tossed it gently about my face. The birds were not yet awake, and so a wonderful stillness filled the air.

"When can I give you your courtship braid?" I asked.

Kili's face lit up, and just then Fili sat up, looking around with bleary eyes. "Right now," my betrothed informed me. "Fili!"

The blond looked around until focusing on us, and the sleepiness vanished. He grinned and crossed over to us, shaking the ache from his joints. Once he reached us he sat down beside me, smiling. "Can you show me how to give him a betrothal braid?" I asked him softly. "I-I don't know how."

He smiled gently. "Of course."

Using strands of his own hair as an example, he began to show me how to braid different pieces together carefully. I followed his example, copying it into Kili's soft brown locks. He stayed very still the whole time, and I held my breath, afraid I would mess up. I didn't, and Fili finally stood, nodding approvingly. Once I finished, I clasped a silver bead around it, sealing it. Kili turned and captured my hand in his, wrapping his fingers around mine.

As Fili headed down to the lake, I leaned against Kili, resting my head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me, being incredibly gentle as if afraid I might break.

"Kili?" I asked softly.

"Hm?" The vibrations from his voice tickled my skin, and I smiled, shifting slightly.

"Did you ever speak to Thorin about us?" He stilled, and I turned my head to face him. His dark eyes stared out at the lake, and his eyebrows were furrowed in thought. "Kili?"

He blinked and turned back to me, his expression clearing. "Aye," he answered. "Once."

I bit my lip, tapping my toes nervously against the inside of my boot. "And what did he say?" He smiled at me, his smile lighting up his face. I mirrored it. "Kili?"

"Aye, I did." He paused, his dimples becoming more pronounced. I nudged his shoulder playfully, and he laughed. "He respects you, Aeyera," he announced. "He respects you greatly, especially after everything you experienced at the hands of the goblins and your father. I have no doubt that he will give us his blessing, Aeyera."

I wrapped my arms around him, leaning into his warm body as the sun's pale light washed over Middle Earth. Too soon, the moment ended. Oin and Bofur woke up, stretching and muttering irritably. Before the sun reached over the tops of the trees, we had set off again, my pack heavy against my still-healing back. Kili and I walked beside each other, helping one another along. He still walked with a limp—understandable, what with being shot in the knee not a week before. More than once he would reach out to help me and then would not let go of my hand for a long time.

I still worried. Even with my courtship braid in my hair, even with my fingers intertwined with those of the one I loved. I was afraid: afraid for us and afraid for those within the mountain. If they still lived, then I knew that Thorin would become a victim of gold-sickness. I could not bear to see that happen. Much sooner than expected, we reached the ridge overlooking the entrance to the mountain.

It still would be several hours before we reached it, but it was the first time I had seen it in two centuries. I realized with a start that I stood in the exact same place I had when I had become an exile. It was from this spot that I had watched Erebor burn.

Kili noticed my pale face and took my hand. "Aeyera?"

Fili and the others had begun to make their way down the ridge. I shook my head. "I'm alright," I whispered. "It's just…" I looked over at the mountain that loomed against a grey sky, and I shuddered. "It's been so long. So much has changed."

"I know," he murmured.

"What will happen when we reach the mountain?" I whispered. "What if…" I couldn't say it.

"Don't think about it," he replied softly. "We'll find out in a bit; there's no use worrying about it now." From the pallor of his cheeks, it was clear that he was very worried, but I said nothing. I nodded, then followed Fili, still holding onto Kili's hand.

"Let's talk about something else, then," I said softly. "I can't bear to stay quiet."

"Can I ask you something then?" he asked me. I nodded and slid down an incline, trying to balance on the loose slate that littered the hill. Once we were safely beyond it, he spoke. "What did your father do to you that last night?" I tensed, nearly jerking my hand out of his grip. He immediately looked apologetic, but he did not take the question back.

"He flogged me. I told you all already." I did not want to remember it. The stripes on my back burned as the wind turned bitter cold. I drew my hood up to cover my face.

"Why?" he asked, sounding grieved. "Why would you allow him to treat you like that?"

I laughed bitterly. "I fear you assume that I am a better warrior than I actually am," I told him. "I could do nothing. Even if I had not been physically overwhelmed, he had leverage over me. He knew this."

"What?" he pressed. He was frowning. His dark eyebrows drew together, framing his brown eyes. Strands of hair whipped across his face, but I noticed with a burst of happiness that his courting braid remained fully in tact.

"You," I said. My voice was so soft that the wind nearly snatched it away without his hearing it. He turned his face towards me, looking so morose that my heart nearly broke. "He knew how much I care for you. He told me that if I did not betray you, he would kill you. All of you."

I shuddered as I thought back to his exact words. I remembered the sound of clinking chains, the sound of the whip cutting through the air and the feel of my blood running down my bare skin.

"'You know why you are here,' Thranduil said, his voice deadly calm. 'And you know what you have to do to leave.'

When I didn't answer, he nodded to one of the guards, who struck me across the back with one of the rods. It made a sharp whistling noise as it flew through the air, and I yelled as it slammed into my skin. I leapt forward, swinging on the chains. I grasped then with my hands, scraping the metal with my nails.

'Just betray them,' he whispered, moving to stand inches away. He leaned down so that our faces almost touched. 'You've done it before.' His hot, sour breath made me sick. 'You betrayed your family.'

'You are not my family,' I bit out, glaring up at him through bloodshot eyes. I cried out as the pole struck my naked back once more. 'They are more of a family to me than you ever were!' I screamed and clenched my teeth as the bar sliced across my skin thrice more.

'So you care for them, do you?' he questioned. He paced before me, not glancing once at my trembling figure. He nodded. The pole struck me a dozen more times, and I was crying, biting back sobs as my body shook wildly. The chains rattled; they were the only things keeping me from collapsing. 'What if we were to take your cell mate down here?' he mused. 'Would the sound of his screams persuade you to obey?'

I began to shake now out of fear and rage, not just out of pain. My mind clouded. 'I will kill you if you lay a finger on any of them,' I gasped out, leaning forward.

He stopped his pacing in front of me and gazed down at me in mock pity, his lower lip sticking out a bit. 'Oh, I'm sure you will. But for now, let's not resort to extreme measures.'

He nodded, and the all-too-familiar whistle of a whip cut through the air. I barely had enough time to tense before it broke through the skin, leaving a bloody welt in its wake. I shrieked and surged forward, stopped by the chains. One of the guards came and held me in place as the other continued. I counted, as I always had, timing the lashes in an attempt to alleviate some of the pain. Thirty-three. He stopped, and the guard unchained me. I fell to the ground, unable to hold myself up.

Thranduil knelt down, being careful to keep his robes out of the blood. 'After today, you will have one more chance,' he whispered. 'If you refuse me, you will die.'

He swept out of the room with his two guards, and two others entered right after and wrapped up my back. They knew that if unattended, I would die of infection, and so they always cleaned and wrapped the wounds. I had learned early that although they were my father's men, they partially remained loyal to my brother. At least, these two did. As they pulled the tunic back over my head and tied my wrists together, Thranduil stepped back in. 'I will take her back,'he said authoritatively. The two guards glanced at each other, then at him, and nodded, allowing him to grasp my shoulder and yank me out the door.

He then grasped the rope binding my wrists and used it as a lead rope of sorts to pull me up the corridors and stairs back to the dungeon. He said nothing, but a smirk rested on his lips. When we reached the cells where the company stayed, he glanced around. They had not noticed us yet. 'Which is yours?' he mused. I glanced unconsciously at the cell I shared with Kili, and his smirk grew. 'How nice.' He pulled me forward and I tripped, slamming my knee into the stone. As I struggled to get up, my arms raised over my head, he kneed me in the ribs, and I cried out as he jerked me to my feet. The company's attention was now focused solely on me. Most, like Thorin, were dumbstruck; others, including Dwalin, were not. Thranduil threw open the door of an empty cell beside Kili's, across from Thorin, and shoved me inside. I remained where I fell, shaking, as the door slammed shut and locked. He strode away, straightening his robes. 'One more chance, traitor,'he called over his shoulder. 'Or they all die, starting with the one you love most.'"

I shook my head to clear it and returned to the present, taking a deep breath. Kili was alright. I look a moment to remind myself where I was. I was with him, nearly to Erebor. My journey was nearly at an end. I was safe now. Kili was safe and whole. Not all was well, but he was safe.

"And you would be willing to give your life to protect us?" he asked incredulously.

"Kili, he threatened to torture you. After what happened when you were dying of the arrow wound, I—" I took a shuddering breath. "I think that I would have agreed to anything. Anything he would have had me do, I would have done it, so long as he was able to hurt you."

"Aeyera—"

"Kili, I love you." I stopped and faced him, staring deep into his eyes. "I cannot bear to lose you."

He took me face in his hands and kissed me gently, wiping away the tears that head begun to trickle down my cheeks. "I love you, Aeyera," he told me softly. "And I swear that I will protect you. Thranduil will not touch you. Azog will not touch you. No one will touch you ever again, and I will never hurt you."

I nodded and leaned forward so that our foreheads rested against one another. "I know."

A short time later we stood before the gates of Erebor. The only sound was that of the wind howling through cracks in the stone. Dread seeped into my bones. There was nothing here. I glanced at Fili. Was he the king now?

"Come on," he called, leading us forward over the rubble. "We have to find the others."

Kili and I glanced at each other, and then followed, hands gripping each other tightly. I could feel his racing pulse. I squeezed his hand, and he smiled at me, although his face was pale and frightened. We climbed over and around enormous chunks of stone that littered the ground, helping one another whenever someone would trip or slip and fall. Bofur and Oin walked ahead of us, looking around. Occasionally they would call the names of their kin.

"Bifur?"

"Bombur?"

"Gloin? Are you there?"

But no response came. Our footsteps and voices and breaths echoed on the stone as we travelled deeper and deeper into the mountain.

We began going down flights of steps, spiraling down deeper and deeper. We passed rooms full of skeletons and caverns filled to the brim with weapons and armor. We stopped at an overhang, looking down at the rubble all around. My heart sank. Are they not here?

The pitter-patter of little feet reached my ears, and I turned my head quickly. Surely not…? A smile broke across my face, and I pulled Kili towards the noise, heading down another flight of steps. The others followed me. We emerged on another landing, and I nearly plowed into Bilbo, whose panicked face drew my attention immediately.

The hobbit threw out his hands to stop us from proceeding further. "Wait! Wait!" He was out of breath, and he doubled over, breathing heavily.

"It's Bilbo!" Bofur exclaimed, as if the rest of us couldn't see him for ourselves. "He's alive!"

When I tried to step forward, the hobbit shoved me back. "Stop! Stop! Stop! You need to leave." He looked around nervously and pushed at me, trying to force me back up the stairs. "We all need to leave."

Bofur looked confused, but a grim understanding reached me. He looked around at the rest of us for support. "We only just got here."

Bilbo shook his head, and I noticed that his whole body was trembling. His fear was contagious. My heart began to race. "I tried talking to him, but he won't listen."

Oin squinted, leaning forward. He couldn't hear well, being old on top of having a damaged hearing aid, but I still was irritated all the same. "Wh...what do you mean, laddie?"

Bilbo was too frustrated and angry to put up with deaf dwarves, apparently. "Thorin!" He yelled. He lowered his voice. "Thorin. Thorin, he's been down there for days. He doesn't sleep; he barely eats. He's not been himself, not at all. It's this... it's this place." His voice broke as he pointed at the ceiling, and I knew for certain what I had guessed so many times before. My heart sank, and Bilbo covered his mouth with his hand. He took a deep breath and let his hand drop. "I think a sickness lies upon it."

Kili frowned and gripped my hand tightly. "A sickness?" He looked over at me questioningly. "What kind of sickness?"

Fili leaned over me, frowning, and I turned to look at where his attention was drawn. A gold light reflected off the walls from a lower hall. I returned the intensity of Kili's grip, wanting nothing more than to drag both he and his brother out of this hole and never return. Before I could cry out a warning, Fili gasped and took off running. Bilbo cried out, chasing after him. "Fili? Fili! Fili!"

"Fili, no!" I leapt after him, the others following in my wake. Somehow I knew that the princes were too good to be overtaken by this darkness, but I still feared for them. We emerged onto a final platform overlooking a cavernous room filled with treasure of all kinds. Gold, silver, gems. I froze in my tracks to keep from running off the stone and falling to my death. No one was here.

"Gold." My head whipped around, and my keen eyes caught sight of Thorin prowling along at the edge of the shadows, hunched over and decked with rich furs. A solid gold crown was perched upon his brow. His voice sent shivers of terror down my spine, and I began to shake. "Gold beyond measure. Beyond sorrow, and grief."

I froze, horrified and enthralled by the scene before me. The others lined the walkway on either side, watching their king with shocked eyes. I heard Kili's sharp intake of breath, saw Fili's eyes widen, and felt my blood turn to ice.

Thorin froze, staring up at us, and narrowed his eyes. A moment later, he spread his arms wide, gesturing to the room. To some it might have been magnificent. It made me sick, especially when I considered everything I went through to keep my father away from it. "Behold, the great treasure hoard of Thrór."

He bent down, snatched up a ruby, and threw it through the air with a yell. As it fell, I caught a glimpse of the darkness surrounding it and the rest of the treasure, and I fought against the desire to flee. Fili caught the ruby with both hands and stared down at it, seemingly entranced. When I saw the fractured look in his eyes, I felt relieved. He was afraid, not enraptured.

"Welcome, my Sister's Sons," Thorin bellowed. "To the Kingdom of Erebor!"