Forget what I said about the other chapter being jumpy, this one is.

Everything from that day is crystal clear. Like, really clear. I can remember every little thing that happened. We didn't really sleep, so there wasn't really any waking up to that day. Most of the Dwarves would doze off for maybe an hour or half an hour, and then wake up, look at their weapons, talk and then stare around them.

I didn't sleep at all, nor did Bilbo, Fili, Kili or Thorin. They were the only ones who I didn't see slip their eyes closed and go slack against the fire light. Fili had kept on talking to Kili and I, but not really about anything in particular. Just opinions and passing comments, playful smiles and grips onto his brothers arm. We ate a lot, too.

Thank God for Dain's army and their good supply of dried meat, is all I can say.

It was that morning, though, that Bard knocked once again (the Men and the Elves were right outside the Front Gate now, since we had warned them of the Orcs army) and had told Thorin of the Arkenstone. He told Thorin that he had the Heart of the Mountain and, oh, wouldn't it be lovely if Thorin could have it back?

In return for Bard's part of the treasure, that is.

'The Elf loving bas-'

'Gloin!' Thorin had snapped, eyes glittering in the dark. The Company, plus Gandalf and Dain, had been gathered near the balcony, of which doors had been closed tightly. The preparation for Battle still waged in the Hall below, and Bilbo's eyes were lower and lower with everything word that Thorin said. 'I cannot understand how he has the Arkenstone-'

'Perhaps they did sneak in, Thorin,' supplied Fili, by his Uncle's right side. 'There might be entrances that we do not know of, they could have quite easily-'

'It is impossible!' ground out Thorin. With shifty eyes I had looked to Bilbo, who looked about ready to burst. 'The Arkenstone is of my father's and of mine. How did he come by it?'

'I gave it to him'.

Bilbo's voice carried like a gunshot in the silence and everyone had looked at him like he'd just proclaimed his undying love for the Spice Girls. There's nothing wrong with that, of course.

I had looked at Bilbo, mouth drawn into a tight line.

'I beg your pardon, Master Hobbit?' inquired Dain, thick eyebrows drawing into a genuinely confused expression. No doubt he had heard of Bilbo's help along the quest, as well as his intelligence and bravery. Not only that, but Bilbo was one of us and Dain could not see past the treasure being the Dwarves to understand why Bilbo would do what he had done. 'What was that?'

I opened my mouth, but Bilbo shot me a heavily meaningful look that shouted SHUT UP MILLIE. 'I had the Arkenstone, and I gave it to Bard the Bowman and King Thranduil in the late hours of last night'. He looked to Thorin. 'I'm sorry, Thorin. I did what I thought was right'.

Thorin's face remained quite blank, and the other Dwarves had stared, wide eyed, still quite shocked. I had shifted my gaze to Gandalf, who'd looked merrily unperturbed by the exchange. 'You gave them the Arkenstone - the treasure of my own family, Master Baggins? Because you thought it was right?'

Bilbo shifted, but stuck his chin out determinedly. 'Yes. I did'.

All calmness that remained in Thorin snapped and he charged forward, face a twisted mess of anger and betrayal. 'What in Durin's name made you think that would be a good thing to do, you loathsome-?'

Dwalin clamped a hand onto his shoulder while Gandalf, finally, stepped forward to intervene. 'Thorin Oakenshield!' he said, in that deep, rumbling voice that only came out when G-Dog was pissed. 'Have you not, for a moment, tried to consider why Bilbo would do such a thing? Think for a moment about how you are handling this business with the gold-'

'That does not give Master Hobbit here the right to take what is not his!' snapped Dain. 'You are a Wizard, not a Dwarf. You do not have the right to interfere with our dealings!'

Gandalf's comeback had been quick and snippy. 'Was Bilbo not promised a share of this treasure? Myself and Bilbo Baggins have done more for this Company than anyone, so do not talk to me of rights. Besides, it was never stated what he would do with his share, was it, Balin, my good friend?'

Balin, who I remembered having the contracts, sucked on his lips before stating, slowly, 'It was not, Gandalf. No'. He dared not look at Thorin, who seethed and grumbled and cursed Bilbo Baggins.

Gandalf smiled serenely. 'Well then'.

Thorin was still not so easily swayed from his anger. Honestly, I could see why he was so angry, but now we could at least guarantee a battle would not happen after the battle with the Orcs.

'You have betrayed me, Bilbo Baggins, and I don't forgive so easily, and nor do I forget. If it were not for the army that comes to take Erebor, I would have you out of this Mountain by night'. Thorin glowered and glared, pulling himself from Dwalin roughly. Beneath that anger, he'd looked hurt. 'This will be settled upon Azog's death and the death of the Orcs'.

Fili showed me how to sharpen Snowthorn. The sword had, admittedly, been scraped up a little, so it had been nice to see her smooth and pretty once again. Yes, Snowthorn is a girl.

'You must remember to think before you swing, Millie,' said Fili, voice quiet as he sat among the hundreds of Dwarves with me. 'Remember all that we have taught you. Stay close to Kili and I, we will protect you'.

'I know you will,' I had murmured. 'You two always seem to be there when I'm in trouble, even when I insist that you don't have to be there'.

Fili had grinned, shifting his position on the rotting bench. 'You sound like Kili. He'd always insist that he didn't need my help, when really he only wanted to prove how able he was'. Fili continued to smile, eyes flashing to where Kili was in the distance. 'But that would only result in him getting in a load of trouble with our Ma, considering he'd come home injured in some way'.

I listened, because I wanted to know this stuff. We had hours left before the Orcs would stand outside our Front Gate, and in that time I needed to, in some way, ensure that I had somehow said a little goodbye to the Dwarves. Well, not goodbye, but just...talked to them. I was not so doubtful about my own survival, but that didn't mean that I hadn't wanted to see how each of them were doing.

Fili made a little noise before reaching into the depths of his thick, fur coat. 'I had almost forgotten. You'll need something other than your sword out there, Millie. Take this, and hide it in your boot, or somewhere it will be hidden away nicely'. With that, Fili had handed me a neat little dagger, simple and small. I nodded, understanding, and slipped it beneath my belt.

'Thank you,' I'd said, smiling at him.

Fili smiled back, only a little sadly.

'I need to go and find Bilbo,' I said finally, carefully sheathing Snowthorn once again. 'He's public enemy number one. Everyone's completely ignoring him'. I stood, stretching out my limbs.

'I think I saw him eating with Bombur, near the front of the hall,' was all that Fili had said, before nodding to me as I left in search of Bilbo and Bombur. Many of the Dwarves were in a difficult position, all shifty and guilty when presented with the problem of Bilbo's 'betrayal'. None of them could talk back to Thorin, only Gandalf could do so without disrespecting the King too much.

Bilbo was as good as shunned. Only those who had agreed with giving the gold to Bard in the first place could see why had done what he had done, but the others were so obsessed with the honor and the bad of it, that they could not forgive him. But I could see that they wanted to.

I, of course, understood how doing something for good could have such awful consequences, so I didn't shun or ignoring or hate on Bilbo Baggins, because I knew why he had done it.

That, and it would have been kind of two faced of me. I did help him, after all.

'My Lady,' greeted a few of the Dwarves as I walked through the crowded Hall in search of Bilbo Baggins. It had made me snicker, when they called me my lady. I mean, I looked less like a Lady than ever, with my coat, boots, messy hair and tired expression. A girl, yeah, but not a Lady.

But still, it'd been nice all the same. So, I had returned these greetings with smiles and nods because, one day, I might be a Princess of some sorts to these people. A member of the Royal Line of Durin, poppin' out those Royal babies and making sure Thorin didn't make a complete arse out of himself.

I hoped so, anyway.

'-and they have good reason to cast me out. I betrayed Thorin - all of them!'

'Master Hobbit,' Gandalf ground out, leaning against the wall in the corner of the hall, away from many of the inhabitants. 'I have told you many a time, you have saved these Dwarves from fighting a battle over gold-'

'But we don't know that!' insisted Bilbo, curly hair waving as he had looked up, frustrated. 'We don't know that Thorin will not call another Battle to fight for the Arkenstone! Yes, they are helping us now, but what about after? I shouldn't have given it to them, I should have left things as they were and returned the stone to the treasure pile-'

'Bilbo Baggins! I give you my word that this was a good enough decision, do you understand me? Yes, perhaps Thorin will continue to be angry, but when is he not? The events that will transpire today with change that stubborn Dwarves mind, let us hope!'

Go G-Dog.

His reminder of the Battle, though, set us all into silence.

'Come, we must join the others,' said Gandalf finally and Bombur had nodded solemnly, biting into some bacon. 'They will begin filling the battlements and the Front Gate with lines of Dwarves. And then, so begins one of the greatest Battles I'm sure many of us will see'.

That's the one thing that I will remember about that day: finding the others and really getting ready for the Battle.

I had armored up with the gauntlets and the matching breastplate, along with light chain mail and my shirt that went on over it. I left my coat, deciding that it would be too heavy and could get in the way. My breeches stayed on, though, along with my boots and my belt. Snowthorn lingered at my side, and the dagger found its way into my boot.

I allowed Kili to braid my hair, as it was him of whom found me as I had changed my clothing. He had looked at me for a second, all searching eyes and tight jaw, before approaching me and running a hand through my knotty hair.

'Would you like me to give you a braid?'

I nodded, searching for something that could be used as a hair band. 'Yes'.

And so he did, tying my smaller braid into the thick mass of twisting hair. I couldn't believe how much my hair had grown, and the transition from human to Dwarf had made it thicker, which also made it much more tangled. Kili had tugged and twisted my hair into a fitting braid that hung down to below my shoulder blades.

'Come on,' Kili had said that, leading me to the others with a hand on my arm. The Hall was creaking and groaning with the noise of the Iron Hill Dwarves as they gathered their weapons, tightened their armour and awaited further instruction. There were certain Dwarves among the bunch who ordered where each group should go. Some would go on the battlements in case the Gate was breached, but most would join the Men and the Elves in front of the Mountain.

I couldn't stop my hand from shaking.

I could see Bilbo's mithril shirt beneath his clothes and chain mail peaking out from beneath the sleeves of the Company. They looked stern, ready, prepared. I wasn't. I couldn't be. My armour felt thick and heavy against my skin - so cold and unwelcoming.

'Are they ready?' Thorin had asked Dain, who walked over from the mass of Dwarves. The Dwarf nodded once; a quick, stern nod. 'Good. What of the Elves and the Men?' He never once looked at Bilbo, his jaw tight and eyes hard.

'A watchmen says that they are gathered outside of the Gate. Many more Elves than Men - the Elvenking may have called for more,' said Dain, and somehow he made this sound as if it were a bad thing. But all I could think was this is it, we'll line up and then that's it. We'll fight. A real Battle.

Thorin continued to tell Dain that the army should follow himself, Kili and Fili out. The King and his Heirs. Our Company would be close behind, in the front line. We would wait for the Orcs to come, and then we would charge on Thorin's word.

I looked at each of the Dwarves, my friends. Nori, Dori and Ori were close together, and Dori just looked at Ori like he was his little brother and he just wanted him to be safe. Kili and Fili spoke to each other, voices low and gazes locked. Dwalin and Balin clutched at each others arms in and nodded, firmly. I stood there, breathing and closing my eyes and remembering every lesson with Dwalin.

I could do this. I could do this.

I had looked to Bilbo, whose jaw was set and eyes distant as he stared ahead, past caring about the Arkenstone or the consequences to his action. All that mattered now was life and death and how those two opposites wouldn't matter once we were out on that field, once the Battle begun. He'd survive - I knew he would. Bilbo Baggins was the most unlikely hero I had ever met, but he was one nonetheless.

The Front Gate was pushed open.

'Fili, Kili,' said Thorin, breaking through the murmurs.

The brothers joined their King's side and, together, the threesome marched out into the dim light of the day. I found myself between Bilbo and Dori, the latter of whom smiled at me and looked ahead. After a small pause we moved forward and, to my surprise, I heard the sound of marching start behind us.

Jesus, we were leading the army out.

I went to look over my shoulder, but I had felt Dori's hand on it, pushing me forward and keeping me steady. I realized then how odd this must seem to them - a Dwarven woman, someone of whom they held in high regard in their race, joining them in battle. They had protected me up until this point, and they would continue to do so.

And I knew I had to survive. For myself, and for all of them.

The Dwarven army behind us slowly filled in the gap that we walked through, in the middle of the army of Men and Elves. An army of three races, united for this one moment in time for a common cause: to protect the Mountain and to keep away the oncoming storm that threatened it.

The Dwarves, Gandalf, Bilbo and I joined Thorin, Fili and Kili at the head of the army. To the sides of us, Thranduil the Elvenking stood with his son and his Elves, and Bard stood with his Men of Laketown. I breathed in deeply, hurriedly squeezing my way to Kili and looking at him, not bothering to hide my fear or numb mind. I was caught up in the moment, so scared, that I almost didn't catch the melancholic smile that graced his features.

I glanced down the line, looking at the Dwarves as they stared ahead, shifting from foot to foot with strong faces held high and hands lingering at weapons; swords, axes, bows and arrow. I finally looked behind me, at the hundreds and hundreds of Elves and Men and Dwarves, all of them shifting with the weight of apprehension. The Elves stood taller than us all, so still and calm faced.

I tried desperately to not show my fear then, upon seeing these men - no, these soldiers face the prospect of battle with such bravery and admirable courage. I clenched my shaking hands and closed my eyes, breathing in deeply through my nose, trying to find and share the bravery of my Dwarves, who stood around me.

I opened them only to the sound of marching, creeping through the eerie silence, staring out to the tips of the ruins of Dale and the river and what came from the shadows there, snarling and shaking the ground.

And, in that darkness of fear, I clutched onto bravery.

Shorter chapter than most, but it's only because I could only fit so much into the pre-battle thoughts. I should be uploading the next chapter soon, considering it's already written, but I want to make sure it's perfect.

Thank you for the reviews!