As soon as Thorin placed her on the rock seat she knew that some of her previously cracked ribs were probably broken, as they hurt a whole lot worse than they had before. It was like she was being stabbed in the chest after every breath, and she wondered how long it would take for them to heal. With the medicine that Gandalf gave her before, maybe a few weeks? There was a group of monsters after them and she would certainly slow the Dwarves down.

"Hilary?" She looked up to Gandalf who was motioning to her shirt pointedly.

"Oh," Hilary said realizing what he meant. "Right," she mumbled as she tried to unbutton her shirt with one hand while the other rested on her chest as if she was holding her ribs in place.

Beside him Thorin looked down at the ground, coughed uncomfortably and turned to leave "No Thorin we may need your help, could you help her?" Gandalf nodded to her. Thorin shuffled on his feet uncomfortably but made no other sound as he knelt in front of her. His eyes met hers for a moment, almost as if he was asking permission, before he began to unbutton her shirt halfway, revealing her bruised torso. Thorin, slightly red faced quickly got up and left to return to his men. Gandalf took his place and began to poke and prod at her ribs. When he poked an injured rib she hissed in pain

"My apologies" Gandalf murmured. "Though if it's any consolation, that's the first one that's broken."

"Wonderful"

"Four are cracked though," He added.

"Oh joy," she replied dryly, before gasping again when he poked a higher rib on her right side.

"Two broken" He amended quietly as he placed his hand over rib cage and muttered something in an unknown language and beginning to wrap the bandage around her torso.

"What was that? what you were just speaking?" Hilary asked

"That was Sindarin, It is the language of the Sindar, those Teleri which had been left behind on the Great Journey of the Elves"

"So, Elves? This world is full of surprises" she snorted but winced when he wrapped the bandages a little too tight.

"I am sorry that I left you with a band of dwarves that you hardly know" Gandalf said suddenly

"Don't worry about it, Bilbo and I are in the same boat so it wasn't that bad but I do hope that you aren't going to be making disappearances too often" Hilary gripped the stone in pain when he wrapped over a broken rib. She looked down to see his eyes flicker uncomfortably. With her spare hand she raised herself up a bit to stare down at him "You're going to leave again aren't you?"

"I may, depending on the circumstances" he answered shortly. She released a shaky breath

"I heard someone on the cliff a few nights ago" he raised his eyes to look at her "It told me that I shouldn't fear the water because my dad didn't die at sea"

"Was it male or female?"

She shrugged with a breath "I honestly don't know, the voice had different layers to it as if it was more than one person taking" She took a sharp intake "What has my Dad have to do with this?" He refused to look up at her anymore so he returned to covering her torso. She clicked her tongue in annoyance from his silence as she realized that she wasn't going to find out an answer soon. Pinning the bandage in place, he looked up at her.

"Is that too tight?"

She looked down and shifted into a new position to test its flexibility "It's fine" she answered quietly as she began to button her shirt up. Once finished he helped her stand up and kept an arm around her shoulder so she wouldn't fall. He walked her into the clearing and was immediately called over to help release the dwarves that were still stuck to the spit. Before he left he made sure that Hilary was seated comfortably. He held her hand in his own and met her eyes

"I do know that you want answers and I know that it must pain you to hear about your Father but I can honestly say that I do not know that much and that it wouldn't be fair for you to get the wrong information". She pursed her lips and looked down refusing to meet his eye again. He patted her hand and walked over to help the dwarves leaving her to her thoughts.

Ever since the day she arrived to this world, the only thing plaguing her mind were questions and no one seemed to be able to answer them. If Gandalf knew he would have told her, he wouldn't be keeping her in the dark when he knows what she is going through. Yet she doesn't believe him when he says that he doesn't know that much. There is something that he is refusing to tell her. Maybe it is for the better, maybe he can't explain it. If Gandalf wasn't going to explain it, then who was? She ran her hands over her face feeling the bump of the scar as she ran her hand down her neck. Gandalf reassured her that it wouldn't last long, though he wasn't sure about the scar on her stomach for it was deeper and it caused her a lot of damage. It had not struck her until a few minutes ago that this was a dangerous quest. Almost getting eaten by Troll's may not be the worst thing that will happen to them. They still have an Orc pack on their tail which made the Dwarves paranoid. If a bird rattles the branches above they would tighten their weapons in their hands, waiting for an unexpected attack. The night with the Troll's lost them a good nights rest and she could feel her eye lids get heavier and heavier. She placed her head in her hands and gently rocked herself back and forth hoping that Thorin would be merciful and let them sleep for a few hours before they journeyed any further over the country side. That thought was highly unlikely.

The mere twenty seconds it took her to stand up from the log she was resting on was agony, she didn't know how she was going to survive the long journey ahead of her if she couldn't move five steps without needing to lie down.

"Ah, my Lady we are not quite ready to leave yet so you can take another few moments to rest" Bofur's voice called behind her. His had reached out and placed itself on her shoulder gently.

"Oh, alright" she said turning to face him "how long until everyone is ready to move"

Leading her back to the log he spoke "A few more minutes maybe depending on how fast we can get all of our equipment and supplies ready. We are all so tired, my eyes feel as if there are anchors pulling them down"

"I know how you feel" she chuckled, massaging her eyes. She looked up at Bofur to see a small frown etch across his face "What's wrong?"

"All the horses have bolted, even your white beauty. We will have to go the rest of the journey on foot. The first stoke of bad luck on our long journey"

"Do you think there will be more bad things to come?"

"Oh more than likely, knowing our luck" he snorted and patted her on the back before resting his hands on his knees. The company around them were running back and fourth through the woods gathering their supplies from the campsite. Thorin, Dwalin, Fili and Kili went in search of a cave that the Troll's used to hide away from the light of day. Gandalf mentioned that there must be treasure to be found inside the dwelling. The silence between them grew longer as they watched the company move back and forth and out of the corner of her eye she saw Bofur rubbing his hands up and down his legs, obviously uncomfortable from the lingering silence. It was many weeks into the journey and Hilary had only gotten to know the company on a first name bases other than Gandalf, Balin Kili, Fili and Bilbo. Seeing that they were doing nothing, she thought it was a good time to get to know one more Dwarf.

"Mr Bofur?"

"Yes lass"

"What do you plan to do, you know...after the journey, after you guy's reclaim your home?"

Bofur eyes lit up at the question. He had never expected her to start a conversation with him. They spoke briefly once in a blue moon but they never actually sat down and spoke about their lives. He sat up straighter

"Well, after we reclaim Erebor we will stay and restore the old mountain back to it's former glory. It will take very long you see, getting from one side of the mountain to the other takes a good few hours, we will need a lot of hands to help us. The dwarves from the Blue mountain will come, hopefully one in particular" he trailed off

"Is it okay for me to ask who?"

"Ketundi Balgomduum" he sighed "Well I am not so sure if she still carries her maiden name"

"She is married?"

"I'm not sure. The Lady is one of the most fairest in all of the kingdoms, Dwarves pile up on her doorstep to ask for her hand in marriage. Our Fathers used to work in the mines before her Father became blind, though they are still good friends mind you. Father goes to see him when he leaves work to tell him tales of the mines. I was lucky that she placed her love with me. It made my day run faster knowing that I would be able to see her at the end of it. On the way to her cottage I used to pick the most gorgeous Daisy's that grew along the path. Before I left, she promised that she would wait for me to return but that was months ago. When I was only a week away from the mountain I received word in the town I was passing through, of her Brothers death. I was struck with guilt for I was not there to hold her and whispering calming words into her ear at night to help her sleep. I even thought to turn around and to abandon Thorin but I swore to her that I would win back Erebor. Her Mother and two sisters were incinerated the day Smaug came, they were selling beads in Dale when it happened. Luckily she escaped. She was only wee when it happened. I hope that she is not promised to someone but if they were there for her when I was not, I can do nothing. She would not belong to me anymore"

He felt a weight on his shoulder and glanced to the side. One of Hilary's hands rested on his shoulder in a comforting manner.

"It's not your fault that you weren't there for her Brothers death and she wouldn't blame you for not being there. You just got to have a little faith"

That was a nice saying, he should probably remember it. Bofur looked down at the girl and flashed her a small smile

"Thanks Lass, for listening. I once had this conversation with Mr Dwalin but he only said that I was a pansy for not bedding her sooner" he chuckled

"No problem, if you ever need to vent I'm your girl" she said before she joined him in the laughing.

"We will be leaving now" Thorin's voice got their attention and they immediately stopped laughing. Bofur bounced up from his seat and helped Hilary off of the log "Bofur help the girl walk. We do not need her falling"

The girl? Well back to square one it seems. Putting her arm around Bofur's shoulders he helped her walk over to the awaiting group. Soon enough they were on the road again.

A/N- Hey guy's *holds hands up in defense* please don't kill me! I am so sorry for not updating in a while. I have been unbelievably packed with homework and exams to study for and I also got a job to earn money for collage so I've been a little busy. I am currently bed-ridden with a broken leg. I was walking down the stairs in school and I tripped over my own two feet and fell down two flights of stairs, ouch. So I have a little time off so I hope to write a little and get this story back on track.

Thanks again to everyone who has read/reviewed and favorited this story. Talk to you soon :)