The next day, I managed to talk with Gandalf.

'You have grown much since I departed from the company last, Alexandria,' said Gandalf, a voice behind me.

I had jumped and turned, tearing my gaze away from the sinking sun to look at him. He looked the same, perhaps a little tireder, a little worn. His gaze, though, was entirely the same. Blue, penetrating and a little, tiny bit awkward. When Gandalf looked at you, he looked at you.

'It hasn't been that long,' I protested into the quiet. The Hall had no longer been filled with the clanking and the hammering, but now the sound of the Dwarves eating, discussing with brash voices when Dain would arrive, and what would be done about our Orc enemy. Not only that, but what we would do about the people of Laketown and the Elves, who also came our way.

'No,' Gandalf had agreed, standing beside me. He leaned against his staff and looked out to the orange sky. 'But Bilbo has told me much of what has happened in my absence, and the Dwarves have, if I may say, discussed it too. You sent Smaug to Laketown,' he said, dipping his head to look down at me. He peered beneath thick eyebrows, which were raised.

I had shrugged, uncomfortable. 'Yes'.

Gandalf nodded and looked away. 'You are ridden with guilt and regret. Do you think that you decision was a bad one, Miss Fournier?' There had been a brief pause in which I had fiddled with my eyes and watched the sun sink lower and lower.

'I don't know,' I had almost whined, finally. 'On one hand, I know that it was an awful, traitorous thing to do. It was disgusting, cowardly and- and something that some Disney villain would do. But then...then I think about how everyone is alive, and now I know that Smaug is dead, and I can't bring myself to fully regret it, you know? But Laketown-'

'Will be rebuilt,' settled Gandalf. 'With stronger wood. All things come to and end, only to be reborn once again, do you not agree? Sometimes, for the good to happen, we must first address the evil'.

I had always thought that Gandalf was a big like a paler, taller version of Yoda, and my thoughts had only been solidified in that moment. 'Gloin and Oin think that what I've done is awful,' I told him. 'Gloin said as much. He thinks I'm not 'worthy' or whatever. It's just...it's hard, trying to act so Dwarven, when I've spent nearly twenty years being just Millie'.

'And continue to do so!' said Gandalf, smiling past his grey cloak as he had looked down at me. 'You have won the hearts of the Dwarves with being, quite simply, Millie. You have not lost their hearts either, no matter what your mind tells you. And, I see, you have finally addressed your own heart, hmm?' The statement was so sudden that my face had flushed pink with surprise.

I'm discussing boys with Gandalf the Grey. How dandy.

'I suppose I have, yeah,' I said, suppressing a smile but failing miserably. I had looked at Gandalf, smiling largely for the first time in a while. 'Finally, huh?'

'Indeed,' chuckled Gandalf. 'I have always found the romantic notions of the Dwarven race quite beautiful. They love for their whole lives, never once loving another, even if their other half dies years before their own death. They will stay loyal, and they will love fiercely. I see you have been given your courting braid,' he said, and my face had flushed even more.

'Oh, er, yeah'.

'Very lovely'.

'Thank you'.

There was a pause. 'Gandalf...how big is this battle going to be? I don't- I don't really understand it, if I'm honest. The Orcs, will they attack no matter what? And will the Elves and the Men of Laketown really attack the Mountain if we don't give them their gold?'

Gandalf's air grew mournful quite suddenly. 'I cannot say how large of a battle this will be, or if there will be one at all between Dwarves, Men and Elves. Dain comes from the Iron Hills to aid us in our time of need, but with the threat of the Orcs I believe that there will be a battle, yes. It is not so easy to talk about civility with Orcs as it is with Men. It is not my belief, though, that King Thranduil of Mirkwood yearns for the treasure of Erebor. They do not yet know that you are alive, and it is in my opinion that once he learns of Thorin's survival, he will no longer try to take the gold'.

I narrowed my eyes. 'But...'

'Alas,' agreed Gandalf. 'I believe that he will support Bard in his claim for the gold. Bard the Bowman believes strongly that he should have his share of the gold, considering that he is the Heir to the City of Dale and that he has slain the dragon Smaug. I have told Thorin of these claims, and my own beliefs of what will happen, although-'

'Although,' barked a voice form behind us. 'I will not hear of them. I will not willingly give the gold and treasure of my Grandfather to an Elf!'

Gandalf closed his eyes, while I had jumped and turned around with a stiff and 'oh, shit' air. Being caught talking about someone was totally awkward. Especially when you were gossiping about Thorin. 'Er-' I had started, only to be cut off my Gandalf.

'Thorin, I do not think that it is Thranduil's, nor his peoples ambition to take a part of the treasure once he knows of your survival. You must look past your hate of the Elves,' stressed Gandalf.

'Then these Men,' said Thorin, throwing his hand out and stating bitterly, 'What right do they have?'

Perhaps it was because of my guilt, but I had said, 'It is because of us that they no longer have homes, Thorin. They need something to rely on to help them rebuild their home'.

Thorin sent me a meaningful glare, so I had shut the hell up.

'Bard is of the people of Dale, and the Heir,' Gandalf had explained calmly. 'And as Millie has explained, the people will need something to pay for the destruction of Esgaroth. There is more than enough for you and your people to live off of, Thorin son of Thrain! Do not let the same sickness that took your Grandfather of old take you!'

Oh God no, scary Gandalf always freaked me out. As soon as I had spotted the others approaching from the archway, I had darted toward them with a grimace and a quick look that said 'run'.

'You accuse me of having Dragon Sickness?' Thorin had seethed. Fili sucked in a deep breath. 'I am King Under this Mountain, and you should remember such things, Gandalf the Grey-'

'Do not tell me what to remember, Thorin Oakenshield! I have seen the mightiest of Dwarves fall to the glint of gold, and I will not see the same happen to you. Upon the arrival of Bard and Thranduil, I hope that you will have enough sense to talk through with them the coming Orc army and find a coalition between your three races!' With that, Gandalf pushed passed us and went back into the Erebor, grumpy and bad tempered.

'Wow,' I had breathed. 'Awkward'.

The next night, the torches appeared in the distance.

'They have come,' said Balin, as we all stood on the balcony above the Front Gate. 'And their army is great. Elves and Men, more of them than I had imagined'. He looked to the left, to Thorin. The King stood with a stiff back and a stern glare, his eyes trained on the gathering that had come up the way near the broken City of Dale.

'I will wait until they reach our Gate, and then I shall walk to them. Do you see this as fit, Gandalf?'

The Wizard had just hummed.

We all waited inside, around the place where we had built a small fire and where we had slept. The march of the Elves and Men grew louder and louder, and I had shrunk against Kili's form with a worried glance. It had sounded like thunder, which had only made me worry about how many of them there were.

'Do you think we will fight?' I had whispered, not wanting to address the whole group with this silent, untouched thought.

Kili had looked at me for a short while and then turned away with a small shake of his head and an almost worried, 'I don't know what will happen, Millie'. But he had still clutched at me because we knew, we knew that even if there was no battle with the Elves or the Men, there was still the Orcs to deal with. With me, there had been the lingering question of where I would go once the Orcs came.

Of course, I had known that I would be in the battle, but I hadn't dreamed to talk to Kili about that. He'd probably freak.

We didn't worry about the army below us trying to get in, because we had already blocked the gate with new metal and stone to stop anybody from entering without our consent. At first, the barricade had been made to try and keep out Smaug, but now to keep out the 'enemies' who stormed for the Mountain. Our Mountain.

But it wasn't the Mountain they wanted, it was the treasure beneath it.

It was expected that Bilbo had been the quietest of us all. The Hobbit pushed himself between a few of the Dwarves as we had sat around the fire, his face blank and ever so slightly grim. Like myself, this was not what the Hobbit had expected. We'd expected adventure, slaying a dragon, reclaiming a Kingdom for the race of Dwarves. This, in our naive eyes, had not been on the agenda.

But there had been something...something off about the Hobbit. Something that Gandalf knew about, I think. I had seen them talking together, Bilbo looking worried and Gandalf looking approving. That had been after Gandalf had seen the ring, though. The Wizard had inquired about it, as the other Dwarves had continued with the Front Gate and I had been loitering about and taking off my armour. The Wizards eyes had been drawn, worried, even a little scared.

It had confirmed my hazy ideas about Bilbo's ring.

The Lord of the Rings. Was the ring bad? Should I have taken it and thrown it to the wind, making sure that no one would find it again? You know the answer, and now, so do I. But I hadn't then.

And all it would have taken would have been watch three, stinking movies.

I worried for Bilbo and what else he could possibly be hiding, but I had been distracted by other fears and other things. One of them being the army outside of the Gate, and Thorin rising with a, 'We will open the Front Gate now. Fili, Kili - my Heirs. I would wish for the both of you to stand beside me when I address the Elvenking and this Bard. The rest of you, stay unseen, stay hidden behind the walls'.

There had been a full silence after that, but many of the Dwarves had climbed to their feet to aid in the opening of the Gate. Gandalf didn't move at all from his place in the corner, where he had dangled a pipe between his lips. His stare, directed at Thorin, had been bland and mildly interested, but his words held an air of warning, 'I hope you consider who it is you will be addressing, Thorin. Keep you words cool and your head level'.

Thorin just grunted and walked down the steps, the others following him. Kili cast me a look as he went, but I didn't reach for him or anything like that. He was Durin's Heir right now, and to kiss him or hug him would only result in his hopeless blushing and uncomfortable looks.

'Millie,' said Dori, one of the last to linger at the top of the steps. 'You'll stay up here, won't you? With Mister Gandalf?'

I'd stalled briefly, shared a look with Gandalf, and then relaxed my form. 'Yeah, 'course I will. I'll be rooting you for you guys up here'. Dori just smiled and hurried down the steps, after his brothers and his friends. 'Go team,' I muttered, turning away sharply to face Gandalf. 'He's been like this since Laketown,' I said lowly. 'Thorin, I mean'.

Gandalf gave a short nod, blowing a ring of smoke from between his lips. 'Bilbo has told me all, Alexandria. I have tried to talk to the stubborn Dwarf but, ah, Dwarves are stubborn, are they not?'

I'd snorted. 'I think you're tryna to tell me something'.

Gandalf just smiled wanly. 'Thorin will not listen - he is beyond listening or seeing reason. It is the Arkenstone he yearns for, above all else. Above any river of gold, even. The Arkenstone is the Heart of his Mountain and, like most Dwarven men, Thorin likes to own what is his and make all know that it is his. The mere thought of an Elf or an Orc raiding the Mountain and finding it before him sets him at ill ease, I think'.

I nodded and blew a strand of hair from my face. 'I thought we would have found it by now, though'.

Gandalf hummed, like always.

After a moment, I had pushed myself against the wall near the balcony, where the thrum of stomping footsteps had stopped, replaced with an eerie kind of silence. There had been the sound of shuffling, like metal against metal and uneasy feet, and upon looking out over the balcony I had seen many Men and Elves, not too close to the Gate, but evidently waiting for something to happen. The army hadn't been humongous, but there had been many - too many.

If they think we're dead, they are about to get a right shocker.

And then, below me, the ground had shaken only slightly with the sound of the Front Gate being scraped open with the effort of all of the Dwarves. With my head ducked and my knees bent, I had peered to see the armies reactions. Although I could not see their faces, I had seen those in the front lines step back a little. The army seemed to have been divided into two halves - those of the Elves (there were many more of them), and those who were Men.

And then, from below, I had seen Thorin, Kili and Fili walk out, stopping just beneath myself, beneath the watch balcony. From behind me, I'd heard the shuffle of fabrics and saw that Gandalf stood in the arch of the balcony, careful to follow Thorin's words about staying hidden, but listening with a cocked head.

'People of Laketown,' called Thorin, voice echoing in the quiet and the still. He'd sounded like a King, an angry, determined King. This is our Mountain. 'Elves of the Woodland Realm, why do you come to the Gates of Thorin son of Thrain, as if for war? What is it that you desire so dearly, that you march an entire army to address me?'

I looked closely, ducking and nearly tripping in my haste to not be seen. Thorin did not touch the sword at his side, and nor did Fili touch his. I had seen, though, that Kili's hand lingered too closely to his own thick sword, and that he had attached his bow to the strap at his back.

It was a Man who had stepped forward, from the front line of the Men and Elves. I had recognized Thranduil, now that I looked closely. He was hardly dressed for battle, but I'd reminded myself of how the Elves who'd caught us in Mirkwood had dressed - green, light materials. Elves were too quick and graceful to get caught by a blade or an arrow.

Wish I was quick and graceful. I can't even walk forward without falling onto my face.

The man had been tall, with dark hair and a handsome face. He was dirty though, and I'd had to squint to see the tears in his armour and the bow on his back. His voice was loud and ever so slightly accented 'Some of your company may remember my face, Thorin son of Thrain. I am Bard of Laketown, and I am glad that you did not succumb to the wrath of the dragon. You are the lucky one in this case, it would appear'. There was a trace of bitter humor in his shout, and my stomach dropped.

Bard had carried on before Thorin could continue. 'I am the Heir of Girion, of Dale. In you hoard - the treasure beneath your Mountain - is mingled much of the wealth of Girion, the wealth of his halls and his towns, which Smaug had stolen. Smaug, who at my hand was slain'. He paused there, letting this information register, before he carried on. 'I wish to speak of the matter of the parts of the treasure that, by right, belong to me. I too come in the name of the Master of Laketown, who stays in the ruins of my peoples Town. The Town in which sheltered you in your time of need and desperation, and aided you in many ways. Will you turn your back on this Town, Thorin son of Thrain, or will you repay us?'

There had been a chill in the air after those words, and I'd cringed at the truth of them. If Bard was the Heir of the guy who had owned some of that treasure, then he pretty much had a massive right to take it. And Laketown...there was more than enough gold to pay for the repairs and to house the people who'd lost their homes. I couldn't imagine that Thorin would-

But, of course, I hadn't remembered the long hours that Thorin had spent in the treasury, nor how he had grumbled and spat over the loss of the Arkenstone. I was still trying to see the good in the Dwarven King.

'The treasure of my people,' started Thorin, and I'd half-wondered whether they were getting sick of shouting over the space between them. 'Cannot and will not be claimed by the race of Men. The evils done by Smaug should not be amended with a share of it. You treated us well, that is true, and the goods and service we received in Laketown shall be repaid - but in due time. Nothing will be given to you as you stand before my Gate with an army and as you act as a threat. I cannot help but wonder,' Thorin added. 'How you would have paid my people, had you found us slain by Smaug. Would you have given my kindred a share of the treasure?'

I looked behind my shoulder at Gandalf, who'd had his eyes shut as if in a silent prayer.

Thorin, you idiot.

'I will not parley when you come with an Elven host to my Gate!' carried on Thorin, and I could practically smell the smoke pouring from his ears. 'Dismiss your armed men and the Elvenking's - whom I remember with small kindness - and I shall welcome you to my threshold. If you do none of this, then I will continue to see yourself and your people as a threat - and treat you as one'.

Yeah, talking of threats...

Bard, to put it lightly, had not taken these words lightly. 'King Thranduil is my friend, and has aided Laketown in its time of misery and despair, where you have not. Gather your wisdom, Thorin son of Thrain, and I will await your words! Otherwise, you will be declared foe and not friend'.

It had been Fili to break the tense silence, the moment the Front Gate closed behind himself, his brother and his Uncle. 'What was that?' he almost shouted. I'm pretty sure that if he'd had a sword in his hand, he would have thrown it to the ground. 'Are you so taken with the Sickness that you will declare war when another Man claims what is rightfully his, Thorin?'

Thorin turned on his nephew, all blazing eyes, clenched fists and sneering mouth. 'What is rightfully his, Fili? It is ours. My own to keep and my own to guard'. I paused at the bottom of the stairs, but Gandalf marched straight past me, nearly knocking me over.

'Thorin Oakenshield!' he grumbled. 'Do you wish to be known as a Mad King? Not only have you dishonored your own honor, but you have let those Men and Elves sit at your threshold when an army of Orcs and Wargs comes charging for the Treasure of Thror!'

Thorin sniffed. 'They will know, soon enough. When Dain and his army come for Erebor, they will know that a battle is afoot and that we will not be so easily defeated. Orcs, Elves and Men will know this'.

'Don't pretend that you care about that,' I'd scoffed, giving up on standing and instead sitting on one of the steps. 'You only care about the treasure, Thorin. But just think about what you're doing'.

'I care about the honor of my people more than most!' he snapped.

'Don't talk to her like that,' snapped Fili angrily. 'Not when you're putting not only her life in danger, but all of ours. And when there is such an easy and simple way out of it - give Bard his share of the treasure! They can help us in this battle if we befriend them instead of become foes with them, Uncle. Just think of that'. He nearly pleading and it practically broke my heart. Desperately, I had stared at Kili and Fili.

And in turned, they watched their Uncle break.

'Do you not care at all for the treasure of your Line, boy?' Dwalin had said gruffly. 'Thorin is right'. And almost everyone agreed with him, aside from myself, Kili, Fili, Gandalf, Bilbo and Bombur. It was us who protested, who tried to talk past the fascination with glitter and gold.

But only to deaf ears.

That. Was. A. Mission. To. Write.

Whew, done! I think this was the part of the book that I dreading to write, among some other, smaller parts. Only because it's kind of the build up, and because I had to tweak a few things to fit what I've already changed. I hope it flows well, reviews are much appreciated! Not that you guys haven't been splendid with them already. I'm very excited to start writing the next chapter, because Millie has a part in something good. Well, kinda.

Thank you for reading my lovelies!