Lindsey threw herself into her sisters arms, tears ran down their cheeks.
"I missed you so much! So much! Oh my god..." the young one sobbed against her shoulder and Kate gently stroked her sisters hair.
"Are you alright?" Lindsey watched her sister carefully.
"I'm fine, sis" Kate smiled and her eyes finally met Thorins. There was no secret entrance for him anymore, no dragon or piles of gold.
There was just her.
Lindsey let go of her sister, watched how she stepped closer to Thorin. They simply gazed at each other, it was as if the world around them stood still.
She reached out for his face, gently stroked his cheek.
"Hey...handsome..." she whispered and he chuckled, pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply.
The Company just exchanged happy glances, too afraid to cheer now that the door into the mountain was open.
It was a long, loving, emotional kiss and as they broke apart he said:"I love you so much, Kate. And that coat fits you very well"
She chuckled and placed another kiss on his lips. "I love you,too, Thorin Oakenshield"
His hands found their way to her belly and to their surprise he knelt down and placed a kiss on top of it.
"Your mother is the bravest woman I've ever met" he whispered and looked up at Kate again. Tears were forming in her eyes and he got up again.
"We met Gandalf outside the Sea City of Men..." she suddenly said causing the Company to look up in surprise.
"Will he join us?" Kili asked with a happy smile and a twinkle in his eyes.
"No, he still has other businesses to attend to. But I'm certain he'll join us when time is right...and now I'd like to introduce you to my rescuer. This, my dear friends, is Legolas" she gestured behind her and now they were aware of the blonde elf.
He stepped forward, a slight smile on his face.
Thorin watched him, carefully until a thankful smile curled his lips.
"Legolas Greenleaf, prince of Mirkwood. I can't tell you how thankful I am for rescuing the love of my life" he said and Legolas just bowed his head slightly.
"It was her love for you, the love for her sister and your whole Company that made this possible. She has a heart as that of a lion. And you teached her very well in sword fighting"
"You had to fight?" Thorin turned to look at Kate, concerned.
She simply nodded, thought back to Tauriel. If they already found her dead body? If Thranduil is already marching to Erebor? She pushed these thoughts aside and looked into the dark opening into the mountain.
"So, this is the entrance?" she whispered and stepped closer to take a look into the tunnel. She expected it to smell foul and it to be muddy and wet. But it was surprisingly warm and dry.
Thorin stepped behind her, pulled her closer.
"I guess now it's time for our burglar to fulfil his contract" the dwarf-king said and they all looked at Bilbo. He stood frozen, nervous about his upcoming task.
He reached into his pocket and revealed the golden ring. Lindsey knew what he had on his mind.
"Fine, I'm going to put my invisible-ring on and take a look inside. Who's coming with me?"
Nobody moved but Lindsey knew Bilbo was too afraid to go alone.
"I'm going with you" she said causing Fili and Kate to look up.
"What?! No, you're not going in there!" Fili said and Kate stepped closer to her sister.
"I know you're brave but this is dangerous...you shouldn't go..."
"It's dangerous but there's no problem for all of you to send Bilbo in there...alone?"
That was a good point, Kate thought but she was still against her sister going in there.
"I will go with him" Legolas suddenly spoke up.
The Company watched the elf, their eyes drifted from Legolas to Thorin. The dwarf-king was not certain if he would be fine with an elf going in that mountain. On the other hand, without him Kate might not be with them again.
"Fine, go with him. But be careful. Smaug is not used to the scent of hobbits but he knows the scent of elves very well"
"I know, don't worry we will be careful" Legolas replied and stepped closer to the entrance with Bilbo.
"Ready?" Legolas looked at Bilbo.
The hobbit nodded and together they vanished into the darkness.
/
Soon the tunnel began to lit up lightly.
"There might be the end of the tunnel" Legolas whispered.
"I will put my ring on now. I'll be invisible but I'm always right in front of you" Bilbo replied and pushed the ring on his finger. Legolas saw him disappear and they moved on slowly.
Suddenly they could hear a loud rumbling sound coming from somewhere in front of them. They stopped and listened.
Carefully they sneaked on and soon reached the end of the tunnel, overlooking a hall filled with gold and many more treasures.
Legolas could feel an invisible hand grabbing his wrist and could hear Bilbo taking a quiet but sharp breath in. Legolas let his eyes drift along the massive piles of gold when he saw a red shimmer moving slightly under the treasures. Bit by bit he saw a huge claw, huge nostrils, a long tail and a skin covered with red and golden scales.
There he was: Smaug the terrible.
Asleep within the treasure hall of Erebor.
Meanwhile, outside the mountain the Company sat down on the green grass in front of the entrance, eagerly waiting the return of Bilbo and Legolas.
Kate was sitting with her back against Thorins chest, his arms wrapped around her from behind, his mouth placed soft kisses on her hair. They all could see the immense happiness in their leaders face.
"Did they treat you well?" Dwalin suddenly asked and Kate watched him for a second.
"Better than the first time, yes. I had a room with a bed, and an own bathroom. It was...It was as if I was more a visitor than a prisoner. Thranduil wanted me alive. Though Tauriel was a bitch. She treated me like shit. So, it's still a strange feeling to have killed her but she deserved it. Somehow..."
"Thranduil wanted you alive, that means he had a plan. What plan? Do you know anything about it?" Fili asked curiously. Lindsey was sitting with her head leaned against the young princes shoulder, watching her sister carefully.
Kate shifted slightly to have a better look at all of them, especially Thorin.
"I did not know until Legolas told me. I was a deposit...he captured me to get something from you" she said and looked into Thorins eyes. He frowned.
"What did he want?"
"The Arkenstone"
His eyes widened and all the dwarves mouths dropped open.
"I would have given a trillion of Arkenstones to him just to get you back, Kate. I hope you know that?"
"Of course, I do" she smiled and kissed him.
"What do you plan to do if we defeat Smaug and find the Arkenstone?" Balin asked.
Thorin watched his friends, his thoughts rushing through his mind.
"I won't give it to Thranduil..."
"But?"
"I will destroy it" he said with a strong and determined voice and added:"No ill power will poison my mind. And this jewel brought sickness over my family before. I don't want it anymore. I just want my mountain back. I don't care about the gold or the treasures. Of course, it would be nice to have it. But Kate, the baby, and each and every one of you is more important to me. To keep you alive, and to give you a new life. A better life. A life like back in the days when Erebor was the mighty and wealthy kingdom"
Now the Company cheered, quietly of course.
"I always knew you're the one I could call King" Balin said with a smile and Thorin returned a smile to his old friend.
Suddenly Thorin chuckled.
"And I never thought I'd fight side by side with an elf"
"What about side by side with a friend?"
They turned around to see Legolas and Bilbo approaching out of the dark tunnel again.
Thorin and Legolas held gaze for a second and the dwarf-king slightly lowered his eyes just to look up again with a smile and his typical puppy eyes Kate loved so much about him.
"Aye...I could do that"
/
Rather short chapter again, probably not the best but I guess you enjoy it no matter what :D
Yep, I changed the quote in the end very very slightly (because I did not want to let Thorin say he might die fighting side by side etc etc^^)
But that quote was on my mind the whole morning and I wanted to use it in here because it's one of my favorites from the LotR trilogy :)