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Chapter 31-So Much Gold

The first thing Karra saw was grey stone above her.

She yawned, sat up, and ran her fingers through her hair. Why was she laying here, in her bed? The last thing she remembered was sitting in the hallway, her head resting on Balin's shoulder. Sliding her feet over the edge of the old, worn-out mattress, she smoothed her skirt and slipped on her shoes.

She was living in Erebor now.

She was living in a great dwarven kingdom a realm away from what had once been her home.

It was a strange yet exhilarating thought.

When she found the others, they were gathered around a large table, just starting their breakfast. Why was she always the last one to wake up? This was getting a bit embarrassing.

She slid in at the side of the table, relieved that no one seemed to notice her arrival. They ate their breakfast in somber silence, an air of worry pervading the mood and forbidding any small talk. Karra glanced around the table, and then glanced around the table again. Something was not right. Still, no one spoke.

"Where's Thorin?" she blurted out, and a hush even deeper than before spread over the table. She looked around at the somber faces of the dwarves, wishing she could disappear. Did they know something she didn't? What had she done?

They finished their breakfast quickly and began to filter out of the room, leaving Karra and Bilbo still sitting alone at the table. For a moment, she just sat there, saying nothing, staring at her lap. Finally she spoke.

"What's up with Thorin?" she said. "He should have been here."

"I know," Bilbo replied. "I haven't seen him since…for a while now."

Karra sighed. "I guess he's just worried. But…" She remembered that sudden flash in his eye, and his silhouette among the piles of gold. "I can't help feeling like it's something…more. I saw him…" Her voice trailed off, and she looked at her lap.

"…standing among the piles of gold," Bilbo finished her sentence. "Wearing a crown and royal robes. He looked…dangerous."

"So you were up last night too."

"You're not the only one who's worried, Karra. About…them." He seemed unable to say more, but Karra knew. She swallowed, and looked away. Patting Bilbo on the shoulder awkwardly, she stood, and walked from the room, sending a little smile back at him. As soon as she was out of the room, she fled, not knowing where she was going, with no purpose other than to escape the thoughts and worries that seemed to be attacking her.

Why was she so rude? She had just turned, and without a word, walked away from the only one who really understood. Understood what it was like to be dragged away from home on a horrible, dangerous adventure, and have everything go wrong, and…and…

Fili.

She rounded a corner and emerged into a great open area, full of rooms and doors. Looking down, she swayed slightly.

This place really needed some railings.

She turned, dizzy, and leaned against the wall for a moment. Maybe she should just go back to bed and stay there until she knew. Until she knew something about Fili. She would prefer even news of his death over this terrible uncertainty.

She walked almost mechanically down the hallway and back to the other dwarves' rooms, not caring where she was going or what she was doing. Seeing movement, she entered a room and found herself sorting treasure—and sorting treasure for hours, at that. It must have been afternoon when she finally got away. The work was interesting, certainly. But she needed time alone, away from eight other dwarves who, at this time, seemed anything but worried. She needed to be alone with her thoughts.

Or did she?

Whatever.

There were great halls here, just waiting to be explored. She wandered down corridor after corridor, examining the dwarves' workmanship with a sense of awe. Someday all of this would be her home, and she could explore as much as she liked, and just marvel at it.

With or without Fili.

Stop it.

She began to run, enjoying the sound of her own footsteps echoing off the walls. She emerged into a large room—was it the room where Thorin had stood last night? She hadn't seen him once today.

The room was filled with piles upon piles of gold, and she walked forward in a sort of dazzled daze. The brightness and immensity of it almost hurt her eyes. She heard the crunch of coins beneath her feet, and found that she was almost wading into the piles.

So much gold.

It was amazing.

Maybe a little overwhelming.

Leaning down, she scooped up a pile of coins and let them run through her fingers, finding a strange satisfaction in the sound as they hit the floor and bounced off of other coins. She grinned. This was actually way too much fun. She scooped up another handful and tossed them in the air, watching as they sparkled and shimmered and tossed up other coins as they landed at her feet. And to think, all of this was theirs, all theirs. She leaned down to scoop up another handful.

She stopped, her hand buried in the gold. What was she thinking? She glanced around, hoping no one had seen her little display of silliness. All these piles of treasure, she was scared of them. She pulled her hand from the coins and kicked at the pile, watching as they scattered. Tearing her eyes away from the huge piles, she turned and fled, away from the gold.

She wandered Erebor for what must have been at least an hour, completely lost in its grandeur. She got a crick in her neck looking up at the high, curving ceilings, but she didn't care. There was just so much of this kingdom—much more than she could ever explore, even in a lifetime, it seemed. It was so huge, so overwhelming, so awesome. Her dad had lived here.

She wished she could have known him.

Seeing a doorway ahead of her, she began to run. She emerged through the opening into a large room, so huge she couldn't even see the ceilings, the pillars disappearing into shadow. One wall lay broken in pieces, large blocks of stone scattered here and there, remnants of the dragon's attack.

She looked at her feet.

A floor of pure gold stretched out before them.

So this was where Thorin had challenged Smaug, just days ago! Taking a deep breath, she poked at the gold with her foot, half expecting it to be molten still. But her foot hit a hard surface, and, still hesitating, she put her weight on it and stepped up onto the floor. A smile spreading across her face, she took a step, and another step. She was walking on gold!

Smooth, slippery gold.

Just a little, but Karra was clumsy enough to slip on it. Her foot slid forward, and she nearly fell over, letting out a little shriek. She began to giggle, and pushed herself forward, sliding across the golden floor.

"I'm ice skating!" she cried, and her voice echoed around the chamber.

She slid across the floor, spun, and slid the other way, giggling. How childish she was being—but whatever, she was enjoying herself. And there was no one here to see her, right? At least she hoped.

She tried to stop herself, but her feet wouldn't stop, and she slid out of control across the golden floor. She waved her arms wildly, her feet skidded out from under her, and she was sitting on her bottom, her legs dangling off the edge of the floor. How her friends would laugh, Kat especially. The thought of her exuberant friend here, in Erebor, made her laugh even harder. Kat would be hard pressed to find her tall, dark and handsome date for Karra here, among this group.

Short, light haired, and handsome? That, she would find.

Karra's giggles slowed, and stopped. Here she was, exploring Erebor, the kingdom that was to be theirs, all of theirs. All fourteen of them. Fili, Kili, Bofur, Oin. Would they ever see the kingdom? They could be dead. Dead. All laughter drained from her now, she sat, her head resting in her hands, staring at the destroyed wall, the blocks of stone thrown up by Smaug's wrath.

All this gold and a huge kingdom was nothing, nothing compared to what she had left behind in Laketown.

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