An hour later I found myself watching from the shadows as Thorin yelled to the dwarves to build up a barricade to block us in. A sense of claustrophobia nearly overwhelmed me, and I wrapped my arms around my chest. I felt as though I were trapped, forced to watch as the walls of a cage were built up around me and sealed shut. Every rumble of stone, every grate of metal on rock sounded like the laughter of the mountain, mocking me. Trapping me.

The dark landscape beyond the mountain called to me, and every gust of cold wind, every twinkle of the stars, every chirp of a cricket beckoned to me, reaching deep into my soul to draw me back into the world I was created for. I drew my arms around myself, looking away. It took every ounce of willpower to prevent me from sprinting past the dwarves and flying away, never to return. Realistically, that couldn't happen. I wouldn't break my promises. All the same, what with my newfound confusion regarding my engagement, I did not know what I would do. Had Thorin not been glaring at me, I might have fled to my room and spent the remainder of the night on the balcony. I held my bag hidden behind my back. I wasn't sure why I had packed my weapons and the rest of my possessions, but I had a feeling that I would not be dwelling within the mountain for much longer.

Thorin turned to face his kin, allowing me a bit of breathing room. He had not asked Bilbo or I to help the company build; doubtless he thought I might have gotten in the way or tried to sabotage his plans. Whatever the case, I was glad I did not have to work. My stomach was being assaulted by cramps, and I wanted to curl up under a rock and remain there for a week. Perhaps I should speak to Oin, I wondered, wincing. He should have herbs for pain.

"I want this Fortress made safe by sunup," Thorin barked, not pausing to move so much as a pebble in help. It was his mountain, after all. He was the king. I scowled at his fur-covered back. "This Mountain was hard won, I will not see it taken again."

Kili ceased working, dropping the wheelbarrow he had been hauling behind him. My gaze was irrevocably pulled to him as he stood at his full height, standing up to the king. He turned on Thorin, despairing. His eyes travelled to mine but quickly locked on Thorin. "The people of Laketown have nothing. They came to us in need. They have lost everything," he finished, desperate. His eyes flickered to mine, and his features softened at the realization that he had been forgiven.

"Do not tell me what they have lost. I know well enough of hardship. Those who've lived through dragon fire should rejoice!" A mocking, insane smile appeared on his face, and I shrunk back. Kili's eyes widened in disbelief, and Thorin's voice dropped to a menacing growl. "They have much to be grateful for."

I stepped out of the shadows and into the torchlight, and all eyes were drawn to me. "Thorin, you sought shelter from your allies when your home was taken from you, and you did not receive it." Thorin whipped around, eyes darkening when they landed on me. "Would you allow others to suffer the same fate? You should extend mercy to these people; they have done nothing to you but to help you! You gave them your word, Thorin!" As I spoke, Thorin drew nearer and nearer until he stood directly in front of me. "Does your word mean nothing to you?" I whispered. "A true king is just and kind, but you—" I swallowed, my gaze hardening as I steeled myself for the consequences of my words. "You are a tyrant."

As fast as a snake, his hand darted forward, and his fingers clamped tightly around my throat and actually lifted my off the ground, slamming me into the wall. My toes barely brushed the ground. I reacted instantly, my hands jumping to his. I pried at his fingers as I gasped, unable to draw breath. I clenched my teeth and stared him down, trembling. Black spots danced across my line of sight. "Do not question my authority, elf," he spat, fighting against Kili, who was also struggling to release his grip on me. "I am your king! I could kill you right now if I—" His eyes darted towards something to my right, and his face drained of color as fury filled his gaze. Without warning he released his grip on me. I crumpled to the ground, coughing and gasping, as Thorin turned on Kili, seizing his shoulder in an iron grip. "What is that?" he snarled, pointing to me.

Somewhere in my muddled mind, I realized that he had seen my betrothal braid. My heart drummed even faster, so that there did not seem to be any spaces between heartbeats. Thorin's eyes were drawn to the braid in Kili's hair, and he let out a howl of anger. Kili tore his shoulder out of his uncle's grip and moved away. "You have asked this traitor to marry you?" Thorin screamed. "You have disgraced the line of Durin!"

With Thorin's attention focused solely on Kili, Fili was able to move around him and pick me up off the ground. He cradled me against his chest, whispering for me to be silent and to breathe. The crown prince darted around corners and past rooms untouched for centuries. My throat burned, and tears ran down my face, unnoticed in the darkness. Fili headed deeper into the mountain, twisting and turning down hallways unknown to me, until he reached a side hall.

With my hearing, I could still faintly hear Thorin's muffled bellows, and I trembled in Fili's arms, terrified. "Go." Fili placed me on my feet and nudged me towards the hall. "There is another way out. Follow this hallway to the end; there is a small tunnel there that leads outside the mountain. The tunnel is too small for any but a child to get through; my hope is that you're skinny enough to fit. You won't be able to put the door back in place; leave it, and I'll follow and close it once you are through. Do you understand me?" I nodded mutely. "Then go!" Fili began to move back to the main entrance, towards his brother.

"Fee—" I coughed, my throat burning. He froze. Hot tears dripped down my cheeks, and my throat closed, aching. "Don't make me leave."

"If you do not go now, Thorin will kill you. I will find you soon. See if you can make it to Dale. Bard will be more than willing to help you, I am sure, but if Thorin finds you, he will not spare you. Go!"

I began to retreat, stumbling down the hall. One hand rested on my throbbing throat, the other traced the wall. "Be careful, little sister," he called. I turned back to see his eyes glinting in the torchlight. "Come back to us." He turned and ran, heading back to his brother. My heart both warmed and ached at his words, and tears spilled onto my cheeks. My throat throbbed. I hurried down the tunnel, trying to hear the yells of the dwarves over the sound of my fluttering heart. When I reached the tunnel's end, I froze. It was a dead end. I ran my hands over the stone, unable to locate the door Fili had spoken of.

Thorin's familiar bellow echoed through the tunnel. "Where is she?!"

I whimpered and searched faster, scraping my hands on the walls. Finally, in the corner, I caught sight of a stone different from the rest. I pulled at it, scraping around it, and it came loose, revealing a tunnel nearly two feet wide, but no more than a foot and a half high. Fili was right, it was meant for children. I put my bag down and shoved my quiver and knives into it. I unclasped my sword as well and shoved it, my bow, and my bag into the tunnel, making sure the point of the sword faced away from me, and lay down on my stomach.

"Find her!"

I began to wriggle across the stone, my arms stretched out before me, grabbing onto the crevices in the stone and pulling myself forward. It was an agonizing process for someone like me, someone who was created for the sky and the sea. I kept as quiet as possible, and I trembled every time Thorin's yells reached my ears. I crawled for what seemed like ages before I heard Fili's voice as he called to Thorin. I froze.

"Uncle, I'll check down here, you go check that tunnel." A moment later, he spoke again, barely above a whisper; he knew I could hear him. "I'm sealing off the tunnel, Aeyera. Keep going. It's far, but you'll make it. Don't stop, not for anything. You won't be able to get back this way, do you understand?"

I nodded, even though he couldn't see me.

"Aeyera?" My heart jumped into my mouth. It was Kili. He sounded near tears, and I wanted nothing more than to crawl back to him and throw my arms around him. I would risk death if it meant that I could stop his suffering. "Aeyera, I'm sorry. You were right, and I was stupid. I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to leave; you were right about Thorin, Aeyera."

"Brother, Thorin is coming."

"Go," Kili whispered. "I will see you again. Hide somewhere until it's safe. Go. I love you."

The stone ground into place, and their voices were cut off. I took as deep a breath as I could and kept moving, pushing my bag before me. I took deep breaths, trying to soothe my throat even as more tears streamed down my face as my heart broke. I was leaving him. I wouldn't have a change to explain before my brother arrived; he would think I was betraying him.

To keep myself from being overwhelmed by thoughts such as these I counted in my head to pass the time. Each time I reached one hundred and ninety seven I would stop and rest. That was my age, after all. After about thirty seconds, I would begin worming my way forward. My throat burned, but I could do nothing to help it. Once I made it outside, I could get water and sleep, and figure out what to do. Until then, there was nothing more I could do but to keep moving. The mountain seemed to be crushing me, and I could imagine everything wrong that might occur or might have already occurred: Smaug's actions at discovering Bilbo having caused a cave-in unbeknownst to Fili and me being trapped, unable to move forward or backwards. The mountain deciding suddenly that it was not fond of this little hole at its base and deciding to be rid of it. I shuddered and scooted forward. I wondered what would happen if Fili was mistaken, if this tunnel merely led to another part of the mountain; or worse, to Dale or Mirkwood. Eru, I would rather face Thorin that appear before my father.

I wondered what time it was. It felt as though I had been crawling for hours. I was exhausted, but I refused to sleep. Not here. Not until I made it outside.

I thought of Kili, of the family we one day would have. I wondered what our children would look like, whether they would be boys or girls, or whether they would have my curls and his eyes or my eyes and his smile. A smile appeared on my own face as I thought of his, and my heart ached. I hoped he would understand my choices. I hoped he would not hate me. I pushed on, dragging myself over miles of stone as my muscles strained and my limbs trembled. Sweat poured down my face and soaked my clothing. My armor only slowed me down, but it was impossible to remove, but even if I had been able to take it off, I would have had to leave it, and with the upcoming battle that was not something I could afford to do.

After many long hours, the tunnel began to grow brighter. I moved faster, creeping along like an inchworm towards the light. The tunnel, which had began to tilt upwards at only a couple degrees several miles back, opened up into a spherical space with a three foot diameter all around, large for me to crawl out and stretch a bit. A shaft of light illuminated the tiny room, and I realized with a start that the sun had risen. So many things were occurring today. My letter would be delivered. The elves would soon be arriving in Dale. I would have to seek shelter with the people of Dale, if I could.

I took a deep, shuddering breath, fighting back the sobs that threatened to close my throbbing throat. I rarely felt so alone. The last time I felt so helpless… over a century ago, in Dol Guldur. I had been betrayed by my friends; sent away by those I had promised to protect. My fiancé was trapped in the mountain, and I could not protect him without being called a traitor. I pressed one hand to my mouth as I rummaged around for my water-skin. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I took deep gulps of the cool liquid, nearly choking on it in my eagerness to drink. When my thirst was quenched, I stood, pleasantly surprised to find that the ceiling was accommodating to one of my height, and pushed my bag up into the last section of tunnel, blocking most of the sunlight. Taking a deep breath, I followed.

Ten minutes later, I shoved my bag into the open air and pulled myself out of the mountain. I stood, my eyes closed and arms outstretched, my face turned up to face the sun, taking deep gulps of air. I had never been so glad to be free. The hole I had crawled out of was the size of a rabbit hole, easily ignored, but to be safe I moved the grass to cover it. I stood in a valley beyond the mountain, which was covered with yellow grass and withered heather. Come spring, however, it would be filled with bright green turf and violet flowers.

The bright sound of a hunting horn reached my ears, carried on the wind. I turned and looked around. I could see the tip of the mountain looming over the far end of the valley. It was not yet midday, and the sun was warm and bright. Despite this, the wind remained bitter cold, and I drew my hood up against it. My cloak had snagged on so many things in the last few weeks that it was nearly in tatters, although the hood itself still functioned.

I untied my sword and retied it to my belt, and then took my knives and quiver from my pack. I tied my bow to the quiver and slung them all onto my back, strapping them into place. My pack went over my shoulder, and I began my journey across the valley towards the mountain, running across the uneven turf. I wondered at what all had happened in my absence, since my trek had taken all-night and part of the morning as well. I reached the foot of the hill and began to spring up it, reveling in the sunlight and cold wind. When I reached the top of the hill, I looked back, pleased with how fast I had run, and then looked ahead.

I froze, horrified. The dwarves had moved incredibly quickly; a massive wall of stone had been built at the gate, blocking all entry into the mountain. Since the last time I had seen it, an army of my father's soldiers had occupied Dale; I could make out their armor and long hair from here. Instantly I dropped to the ground, praying that none of them had seen me.

I was partially hidden in the tall grass, so I doubted anyone not already looking for me would find me, but I still shook with fear. If Thranduil found out that I was out here, alone, and most certainly not safe inside the mountain… I shuddered to think of what he might do. I peered over to the gate and was surprised to see a lone rider making his way to the mountain. I could see Thranduil on his elk standing back with his soldiers, and a moment's observation showed the lone rider to be Bard. I cursed when I realized I could no longer seek shelter with him; not while my father resided in or around Dale, at any rate.

I saw him dismount and approach the wall, and I could see the armor clad figures of the dwarves standing atop it. Thorin moved down from the wall, disappearing from sight. Bard moved until he stood directly by the stone, and I could see him speaking to something; I guessed that there was an opening for him to speak to Thorin through. Several minutes passed, and without warning Bard slammed his fist against the stone. He then turned on his heel, remounted his horse, and cantered back to where Thranduil waited, the epitome of tranquility. I turned my gaze to the company. Bilbo and Thorin were speaking, although from the distance I could hear nothing. Noting this, I looked to Bard. He and Thranduil spoke for a moment, and I growled angrily as Thranduil drew his sword and pointed it towards the mountain before turning and riding back to Dale. His intentions were clear. He intended to attack the mountain. After a moment's hesitation, Bard followed, and minutes after the two leaders returned, the entire city was abuzz with activity. I could see men rushing to and fro laden with dusty weapons whilst the elves strode calmly about setting up their own shelter, set slightly apart from that of the men.

I moved back so that the hill rested between Dale, the mountain, and I, and I pressed my forehead to the earth. What was I to do? I couldn't stay here; I was unprotected, and if Azog arrived early I would be murdered. I couldn't return to the mountain; Thorin would kill me. I couldn't go to Dale, or else Thranduil would find some way to kill me and make it look an accident. I groaned, fisting the dead grass in my hands and sagging against the side of the hill. I hated being so alone.

"Aeyera."