I don't own The Hobbit, the book or the movie. This fic will be based on the movie, with some tidbits from the book. I do own Astrid and Nerys and their backgrounds, and Idhril, who makes an appearance for all of like, five minutes later on. Treasures is rated for violence mostly, and drinking and smoking. You know how dwarves are. This fic will be written in three parts, one for each of the movies. Please enjoy!

Treasures Lost and Found
—Time to Leave

Thorin spent most of the next day moving through the halls and along the paths of Rivendell, impatient for the sun to set and the moon to rise. Lord Elrond assured him tonight's moon would be the proper one for reading the runes hidden in Thror's map, and as soon as he had the answers, the company of dwarves would be off, through the wilds and the mountains, towards Erebor. Towards home.

But Thorin found his mind still occupied by things other than the quest, despite his best efforts to the contrary.

Dwalin's face when he had shared Dain's news was at the forefront, the anger and hope and pain and concern. The big dwarf's first reaction had been to be mad with Thorin for keeping this information, but any hostility was quickly overcome with faint hope at the possibility of Nerys being alive and concern for how she had been living all this time. Had she been injured? Did she remember who she was? Had something happened to her to keep her from coming to look for them? Thorin shared the belief that, had she been alive and able, Nerys would have done whatever she could to get back to her brothers, to him. Under the weight of the shared conviction, Dwalin's hope had faded and he'd thanked Thorin for sharing the information before walking away.

The look on Dwalin's face as he'd left had been exactly what Thorin had been hoping to avoid by keeping the information to himself, but he knew the ambition had been a foolish one. Balin and Dwalin had been Thorin's friends for his entire life and could read him better than anyone; they always knew when he was hiding something.

Thorin sighed as he continued along his current path through Rivendell, a curving stone walkway which seemed to run along the perimeter of some of the smaller buildings in the complex. It was secluded, kept separate by a thick growth of trees and flowers on one side and the river on the other, which was what the dwarf prince had been after: a place he could think without interruption.

It was not, however, something he got for much longer.

He rounded the next bend in the path and found Astrid, sitting on a bench and reading, nearly invisible amongst the trees. She looked up when Thorin approached, gave him a small smile and lifted a hand in greeting, though he could see the apprehension about his company in her eyes. They had never had many interactions, but all of them had been short-lived and somewhat tense, and he knew she was intimidated by him, though she had never let that keep her from speaking her mind. As Thorin approached, he found himself replaying their first meeting in his mind, when she'd been a child and told him if he were a prince, he should wear a crown.

"It has been a long time since you were with us in the Blue Mountains, but it seems you fit in as well with my people as you did then," he said.

She kept up the smile, though the expression faltered a little bit as she closed her book and put it on her lap. "You remember me then?"

Thorin sat on the bench beside her. "I did not at first, but seeing the way Dwalin was around you reminded me. He treats you like a sister, as he did when you were young."

Astrid was silent a moment, chewing one corner of her bottom lip. Thorin may not have known her too well, but he could see she was debating her next words. In the instant before she opened her mouth to speak, he realized what she was going to ask and he almost waved away the question.

"Was he the same way with Nerys?"

A flood of anger filled Thorin, though he'd been expecting the question. It bothered him this human woman knew about Nerys, knew of his relationship to her when it was something Thorin kept to himself. He narrowed his eyes and Astrid flinched. Only a moment later, the anger dissipated, replaced by an empty weariness. He closed his eyes and sighed, his shoulders falling as he settled back against the bench. "He was very protective of her," he said slowly, his tone as apologetic as he could make it. "But yes, he is much the same with you as he was with her."

"I… Dwalin mentioned she might have survived—"

"She did not," he snapped. "She could not have survived."

Astrid's mouth opened and closed a few times as she searched for an adequate reply. She ran a hand back through her dark hair, her eyes dropping to the ground, and cleared her throat before saying, "Then I truly am sorry. I have never lost someone I cared about as you must have cared for her."

Thorin nodded and made a non-committal noise, unsure how to respond to the statement. He expected Astrid to be wild and stubborn and her moments of calm, of empathy, of rational thought took him by surprise. Though, he supposed, she had had years to learn control, to become more aware of her actions, to learn to think before she spoke since the last time he'd seen her.

He thought then of the way she really did fit in with the dwarves, how she seemed to enjoy the loud and boisterous time around the fire sharing stories and food. He thought of the way his nephews were around her, of how focused Kili had been when teaching her archery, when learning from her.

"Astrid," he said after a few beats of silence had passed.

A smile passed over her lips and she exhaled through her nose, almost a snort of derision. "I am aware you will be leaving soon, you do not need to warn me. I am not going to cause any trouble. I know your quest is important." She turned her face to Thorin, her green eyes almost black in the shade of the trees. "It is not hard to know what you are concerned about. I do not imagine I hold the best reputation with you."

One corner of Thorin's mouth lifted and he knew without looking that Astrid's smile had grown to a full grin. She wasn't wrong, but Thorin was nearly compelled to tell her she was.

"I will leave you to your thoughts," she said, getting to her feet and starting down the path, her book tucked under one arm. She made it three steps before she turned back around. "Why have you not told Fili and Kili who I am?"

Thorin shrugged before he could stop himself. He had almost told his nephews their supposedly new acquaintance was the little girl who had cut their hair and stolen their arrows and knives, but something had stopped him. Perhaps it had been Balin's words on the balcony, about how the laughter and happiness was good, especially on a quest such as theirs. He was not sure how Fili and Kili would react to the knowledge either, so maybe it had something to do with letting them enjoy Astrid's company, of letting her enjoy theirs.

"It is your knowledge to share," he finally said.

Astrid nodded once before she turned and started walking again.

There was a different atmosphere surrounding the dwarves' camp when Astrid joined them that night, something almost palpable and a little sad. Judging by the half-packed bags and the warnings she'd received from both Dwalin and Thorin, it was because they were to leave soon, but she wasn't going to ask because she didn't want to think about it anymore than she already had. She liked the dwarves and, as it had been when she was young, the thought of seeing them off was not a pleasant one; though she'd never thought she'd see them again then and she had, so maybe this wouldn't be a last goodbye. But they were on a dangerous quest and she was headed in the opposite direction to continue her exploration of Middle Earth, so it seemed likely to be the end.

She remained hovering in the archway, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, much as she had the first night she'd come to join them around the fire, watching the assortment of dwarves laugh and eat and carry on about six or seven conversations at once, talking to, at, and over each other with practiced comfort. It was easier now than it had been to follow all the conversations and Astrid found herself smiling as she picked out the elaborate tale Bofur was spinning, Dori chiding Ori for something, and Bifur trying to relay so information to Fili, whose eyes were narrowed in confusion at the grunted syllables and hard gestures. Nori and Gloin were arguing about something to do with gold coins and Bombur was cooking up some sort of stew over the fire. It smelled good, whatever it was. Thorin and Balin were absent, probably talking to Lord Elrond, and there was no sign of the hobbit or Gandalf.

Astrid caught Dwalin's eyes as she made another pass over the room, and returned his nod, a silent greeting. She followed the direction of his gaze to the back of the room, where Kili was sitting in one of the alcoves, a book propped open on his knees with a quill in one hand, and his pipe between his teeth. For a fleeting second, it bothered her that Dwalin knew she'd be looking for Kili, but she pushed the feeling away; it wasn't as if she'd been spending much time with anyone else.

Astrid's smile dropped when she returned her attention to Kili, and she furrowed her brow. Even in the dim light from the fire, the book he had looked like her journal, her journal that had been missing for a few days. She kept stories of her travels in it and she had been thinking about turning it into an actual book, not that she'd had any grand adventures or anything worth reading about. She'd mentioned the book to Kili once to twice, but it was still something she kept mostly to herself.

She pushed herself away from the arch and picked her way around the back of the cluster of dwarves until she was standing beside Kili. "Is that my journal?" she asked.

Kili looked up and grinned at her around the stem of his pipe, and damn it, she returned the expression; it was almost impossible not to. Instead of answering, he closed the book and tucked it and the quill underneath his bag, which was wedged between his side and the wall. "How about we get a drink?"

"Why do you have my journal?" Astrid asked, though she was following Kili back towards the fire.

"It's not your journal," Kili said as they sat in their usual spot by the flames, their backs to one of two pillars in the room. He accepted two mugs of ale from his brother and passed one to Astrid.

She smiled at Fili. "It certainly looked like my journal." She nudged Kili's ribs with her elbow as she settled back against the pillar when he gave her a smug grin. "Please do not tell anyone what you've read."

Kili grinned widely at her over the rim of his mug. "I won't."

She nudged him again, her lips pressed together to avoid laughing when she was trying to be annoyed, though she didn't really feel it. There was nothing in her journal unfit for sharing, and several others she had met during her travels had inscribed bits of knowledge or stories in it for her—things she wanted to remember, to be able to look at and recall the people and places that went with those stories. She trusted Kili would keep whatever he had read to himself. Astrid smiled at him as he shifted towards her, moving until their shoulders were touching and she was tempted to lean into him, to put her head on his shoulder.

The warnings Thorin and Dwalin had given her, incomplete though they had been, sounded in her mind. She almost pulled away, but she liked sitting as close as she was to Kili and if they were to never see each other again…

She gave her head a little shake and took a long drink from her ale.

The moon was high and bright—a tilted crescent almost like a smile—as Astrid made her way back to her room. It was also wobbling back and forth a bit. Wobbling? That wasn't right.

She stopped walking and rubbed at her face, which only made her feel more unsteady. A jolt went up her leg as she tried to take another step, the limb giving way beneath her. She had a split second to think how unfortunate it would be if she fell to her death over the edge of the pathway before someone grabbed her and hauled her back to her feet.

Astrid knew without looking it was Kili who had come to her rescue. "Rivendell seems to be a little bit off kilter," she mumbled.

"No, you are the one who is off kilter. I have never seen a human your size drink so much ale."

She narrowed her eyes as she continued forward, trying to remember just how much she had drank while sitting around the fire. With all the thoughts spinning through her head—thoughts of Kili, of the dwarves leaving, how ridiculous it was for her to fancy Kili, how much she was going to miss Dwalin, of how she wanted to go with them to Erebor—she had lost track of just how many cups of ale various dwarves had handed her. Astrid gave a snort as she walked, Kili remaining close enough to catch her if she stumbled again.

"Have you been to Erebor before?" she asked once they had reached her room. Astrid automatically headed for the bed, the idea of pillows and blankets seeming like the perfect thing at that moment.

"How did you know we are bound for Erebor?"

"I guessed." She kicked her boots off and sat on the edge of the bed, falling back so she was staring up at the ceiling. Her eyelids were suddenly heavy and sliding closed. Astrid shifted so she was lying completely on the bed and rolled onto her side to look at Kili, who was still standing close to the door. "Have you been there?"

"No."

"It seems an awfully big thing to risk your life to save a home you never knew."

Kili crossed the room, his footfalls sounding quite loud in the relative silence. He had left his heavy coat back at the dwarf camp and he looked smaller than normal, though he looked more comfortable as well. "It is the home of my people and my uncle will be king under the mountain." He said the words as if they were rehearsed, as if it was something he'd told himself over and over. After hesitating for a second, he added, "And I want to see the world."

Astrid smiled, wide and unguarded, at that response. It was a desire they shared. She opened her mouth to reply, but her words were cut off by a yawn. A thought came to her then and, being far removed from herself as she was, she let it out. "Kili, will you stay here until you have to leave?"

Silence met her query and she forced her eyes open to see if he had gone—maybe she had fallen asleep for a few minutes—but he was still standing there. He looked slightly alarmed by the request. She watched several thoughts and expressions play across his face before she closed her eyes again, sure he would leave, but then the bed dipped under his weight and she was smiling. Kili moved close enough that she could feel the warmth coming off him and she moved closer still, placing one hand on his chest and tucking the other under her head. The last thing she was aware of before sleep finally pulled her under was a blanket being draped over her.

Kili didn't want to fall asleep. It was an odd thing to feel, since he loved to sleep and knew it was important to be rested, especially since the dwarves would be leaving when the sun rose, but he just couldn't bring himself to close his eyes.

He looked down at Astrid, sleeping soundly. Her breaths were deep and even and every once in a while she would twitch or mumble something he couldn't understand. She looked so different, though the nagging sense of familiarity was still there. He'd thought hard about where he could possibly know her from, but he kept coming back to Fili's suggestion: that she just looked like someone else he knew. That had to be it, since Kili's exposure to the world outside the dwarf settlement in the Blue Mountains was sadly limited.

Regardless, Kili knew he would miss Astrid.

Almost as if she knew he'd been thinking of her, Astrid gave a little snort and shuffled closer to him, draping her arm across his middle and almost burying her nose in his side. He laughed under his breath, though his cheeks where a little warm.

He reached down and brushed some of the hair from her face, his fingers brushing a faint scar along her cheekbone. Wondering how she got the initial injury, Kili's eyes finally started to slide closed. He tried to fight it for just a little longer, but he was warm and comfortable and soon, sleep got the better of him.

It only felt like minutes later when Fili shook him awake. Kili reluctantly untangled himself from Astrid and followed his brother back to the camp.

Astrid awoke with a start, her head pounding slightly in protest. Mumbling, she pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead and rolled onto her back. The first silver rays of sun were peeking around the trees and mountaintops into Rivendell, water glinting like liquid metal as it poured into the obscured bottom of the valley. With a small groan, Astrid sat up, realizing then what had awakened her: Kili was gone, the spot where he'd slept still warm.

"Kili?" she called, hating the tentative sound of her voice a bit. There was no response. "Kili?"

She slid off the bed and crossed the room to the window, squinting as she approached. A warm breeze pulled her hair back from her face and made her blink, but it felt good. She rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her vision further, and peered into the distance, a flicker of movement catching her eyes. It was just sunrise—who would possibly be moving around on the mountain?

The dwarves.

Astrid narrowed her eyes further as she counted the dark shapes moving along what must have been a fairly narrow path. Fourteen. All the dwarves and probably the hobbit then. She sighed and leaned against the wall, her head beginning to pound again. When she could no longer see the shapes moving along the mountainside, Astrid returned to bed, regretting that she'd never actually said goodbye to Kili or Dwalin or Fili or any of the dwarves.

The day was cloudy and cool, a bitter wind whipping off the lake, but Nerys barely noticed. Her eyes were glued to the dark shape of the Lonely Mountain on the horizon and she was doing her very best not to look at Dain where he stood beside her. She pushed some of her thick hair back from her face, her fingers tracing the scar tissue where it curled over the very edge of her jaw. Since Dain had returned to Lake Town and tracked her down, she had been able to think of nothing aside from Smaug's attack and the life she had lost; the memories weighed heavily on her mind most days, but with Dain actively reminding of her Thorin, it was harder than usual to shake the thoughts.

The dwarves from the Iron Hills had arrived early that morning, tired and weary from their long trek. They had come from the Blue Mountains, from a meeting with Thorin, a meeting confirming both the rumours of a quest to reclaim Erebor and Nerys's suspicions of who was engineering such a quest. Dain's news had first filled her with enormous hope and happiness, but the elation faded when he told her Thorin wasn't coming from her, that he didn't believe she was alive.

Not that she blamed him—he'd watched her bathed in dragon fire and then she hadn't been able to go and look for him. There was no reason for him to think she was alive.

"Come with us to the Iron Hills," Dain said, the sudden appearance of his voice in the silence making Nerys jump.

It wasn't the first time he'd asked. Part of Nerys wanted very much to go with Dain, to live among her people again, but she knew it wouldn't matter. The Iron Hills wouldn't feel like home; Lake Town barely felt like home and she'd been living there since before many of the current residents could remember. She would be at home when Thorin returned to the mountain, when she could see her prince again.

"I am quite happy in Lake Town, Dain."

"You a terrible liar. You are not happy here and you need to be protected. Durin knows why you haven't left yet—"

Nerys did look at Dain then, her eyes narrowed and her mouth set in a thin line. Dain had not said anything inherently wrong—he was thinking as he had been brought up to think: that dwarf women needed to be kept secret and safe because there were so few of them—but it fanned the flames of rage always present in Nerys these days. "I have not left Lake Town because when I was brought here after the attack, I could not walk or see or think—I could barely breathe! It took years to heal, years to relearn how to walk, to move, to even hold a sword, let alone fight. The people of Lake Town helped me and I owe them my life."

"So you stay for sentimental reasons?" Dain asked, his own voice rising to match Nerys's.

"I stay because I have never been beyond Lake Town on my own! I stay because I was raised to stay away from the rest of the world. I have tried to leave, but I am afraid!" She stared hard at Dain for a moment before she huffed and gave her head a little shake, the beads in her braids clacking together. "I do not how to leave, Dain, and I do not want to. I will stay here and repay the kindness these people have showed me. Thorin and the others will likely come through Lake Town on their quest and when that happens, I will join them and then I will go home."

She wanted to tell Dain she'd spent many years thinking Thorin and her brothers were dead, that she'd considered ending her own life so many times she'd lost count, and that being separated from her family and her people was painful all the time, but she could see by the look in his eyes her point had made it through.

With another sigh, Nerys started back towards Lake Town, the hem of her dress brushing the grass. She stopped when she was level with Dain and let her rage show through. "It would be best if you did not speak to me again while you are in Lake Town," she said, her voice level.

Dain nodded. "I am sorry for the offense."

Nerys held his gaze a moment longer and then continued back to the wooden town. She made it five steps before she started shivering and nine steps before her scars started to itch, the way they sometimes did when she was mad.

This chapter took fucking forever and I am terrible at updating. I am so sorry. I'm not sure what's been wrong with me lately, but hopefully my ability to focus is back and I can get this thing moving along.

It doesn't help that I get antsy every time I'm about to post a chapter. I've never posted a fic for a fandom that was at like, an apex in its popularity before. This is a new experience for me.