Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is not my own, yadda yadda yadda. I'm not making any money off of this. (Though I wish I could.)

I found myself thinking much of Thorin and the company. I hated waiting for their arrival and, knowing that it would be almost a month before I would see them again was nearly unbearable. Add in the fact that I constantly had to put off a dinner with the Master, and I was becoming down right bitchy.

So, it wasn't long before I settled into a routine. Once Bard had realized how well I could read, write, and do math, it was all over. I suddenly became a teacher, schooling the kids on the alphabet and word recognition and basic addition and subtraction. They knew the basics, but unfortunately, with as poor as the town was, not much stock was put into education.

Bain resented it, seeing himself much too close to manhood to need a 'nurse maid', as I heard him scathingly call me. Sigrid, however, loved the thought of being able to read as well as her mother had. Tilda was too easily distracted, much preferring my stories to my teaching. I didn't really blame her. School had never been my favorite, either, and I had often spent much of my time day-dreaming.

I found, though, that if I wrote down the stories, she became a lot more interested in reading and writing. After nearly three weeks of teaching, I had already told her the Lion King, Aladdin, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty – both which she hated, because she never wanted to grow up just to marry a snooty prince-, Brave, Black Beauty, Spirit, and was onto Peter Pan when she decided she very much liked the idea of never growing up.

We had been in the kitchen when she picked up a loaf of very stale bread and hoisted it at me.

"Come on, Wendy, I'll save you from Captain Hook!" She grabbed her sister's arm, who just rolled her eyes and offered me a small smile. I threw up my hands in mock surrender and dove off of the chair I was on. I picked up my own loaf of bread and lightly tapped her with my own.

"Peter Pan, prepare to meet your doom!" I called out. What followed was an epic loaf-fight in which the lives of many crumbs were haplessly destroyed. I was struck twice on the head by Tilda, who I was surprised to find, had a hell of an arm for an eleven year old. Even Sigrid picked up her own weapon, a broom, and pretended to shoot arrows with it, like I had demonstrated to her with my own bow when she asked if I really knew how to use it.

I was running full tilt across the house, a very broken loaf in hand, with Tilda screeching wildly behind me and Sigrid laughing along with me. I had to nearly throw myself to the side to avoid smashing into the suddenly open front door.

Bard and Bain walked in with matching looks of confusion on their faces. I cleared my throat, hide the bread behind my back, and smoothed out the dress I was wearing, one that I had borrowed from Sigrid since, sadly, we were very close in size.

"Father!" Tilda ran at Bard with her loaf in hand, raining crumbs down everywhere. "Talya told the best story today about pirates and a place called neverland where you don't ever have to grow up! And we had a sword fight!"

Bard raised an eye brow very slowly and looked at me. I smiled sheepishly and handed over my piece of bread. He shook his head as he looked over his daughter.

"Tilda," His tone was very serious, and I watched her face fall a little. "Dear girl, you are holding your sword all wrong."

I began to smirk as her eyes lit up. She adjusted the grip to mimic the way he was currently holding his own loaf and then she gave a war cry and dove at him. For the first time ever, I heard Bard truly laugh and it warmed my heart to see the normally serious man with a very dry sense of humor enjoy himself for a change.

I watched for a while as Bard and the kids played. He had even coaxed Bain to join in, despite the young teens protests. It wasn't long before he had run out of steam after working all day and he shooed the girls away, telling them to clean up the mess they made. Bain went off to work on some math problems I had given him. Thankfully, he had a fair base already from working with Bard day in and out, so I had given him some mock ledgers to fill out on his own.

Once we had dinner that night, the kids headed off to bed. I tucked in Tilda and began to tell her the story of the Beauty and the Beast. She immediately despised Gaston and quickly became enraptured as I told her about the Beasts' growing attraction and love for Belle. She protested heartily when I left off at the part where Belle leaves to tend her father, and even Sigrid wanted to know more. I promised I would continue the next night, though.

26 days had come and gone. No word from Mirkwood, though I wasn't really expecting there to be. So far, timelines seemed to stay truer to the book then the movies so it would be almost another week before Bilbo would break them free of Thranduil's prisons. As much as I found myself enjoying spending time with the kids and Bard, who had warmed up to me considerably ever since I had started telling Tilda stories, I missed the company. Balin with his warm smiles, Kili and Fili with their quick words and laughter. Ori, and his enthusiasm for art. Bilbo with his quiet wit. Thorin, and whatever he had come to mean to me.

I was standing out on the balcony, looking up at the stars, when Bard came up behind me.

"They have grown quite fond of you." He said, glancing down at the ground before peering up at me with warm brown eyes.

"They are good kids," I replied. He came to stand next to me.

"What if your kin never come?" His voice was soft.

"They will."

"But if they don't? What will you do?" I frowned and turned to look at him. He reached out slowly and took my hand in his. Little warning bells began to ring in my head as he drew me closer to him.

"Would it be so terrible to stay here with us?" He leaned in close to me and my throat grew dry. I cleared my throat and pulled away.

"Bard... I haven't even been here for three weeks."

"It is true that you have not been here long. But in these dark days, you must seize any happiness you can. It has been a long time since I have seen Sigrid and Tilda laugh as they do. It has been a long time since this house has felt like a home. And it has been a long time since I have felt the stirrings of anything for anyone."

"You don't even know me." I argued.

"I know you adore the children. I know that you are learned. I know that you are quick witted and sharp-tongued. I know that you love to smile and laugh. And any fool can see that you are beautiful. The more I find out about you, the more I want to know about you. It is not love… But… If you stayed here with us… Perhaps we might both grow to truly care for one another."

He reached up and touched my face gently. It reminded me too much of Thorin's gesture when we had climbed down from Carrock, and my heart ached.

"I am sorry, Bard." I stepped back from him and he frowned. "But my heart belongs to another."

He let out a long breath and dropped his hand. He looked so defeated for a moment that I almost hugged him, but I did not want to give him the wrong idea.

"Is he a good man?" He asked after a moment pause.

"Yes, in his own way."

"Then I will hope that he finds his way back to you." He smiled at me sadly. "Would you have ever considered staying here, if it were not for this man?"

"Does it matter?" I asked. He let out a dry laugh and shook his head.

"I suppose not."

After the awkward talk on the balcony, I found that Bard had withdrawn from me some. It made me a little sad to realize that we could never truly be friends because I did genuinely like the man. Maybe if I hadn't fallen so hard for Thorin, I could have been happy with Bard. He was much more open and friendly then he first appeared and he loved his children deeply. Maybe if I wasn't so foolish, I could have stayed here with the man who so obviously could grow to love me, instead of a distant dwarf King who was fated to die.

Now that nearly a month had passed, I started to get anxious. I found myself often starring off towards Mirkwood and Erebor, lost in thought. I felt the need to do something, anything, and it wasn't until I had a vague dream of Galadriel that I decided what it was I needed to do.

I sought out Bard early one morning on a day he as supposed to set out for a two-day trip out of town, my bow in hand. When I finally reached his small ship, I called out to him.

"Bard? Can I talk to you?" His head popped up from around some barrels and he frowned slightly, probably noticing that I was much more serious than usual.

"Yes, Talya?' He climbed down off the ship and made his way to me, brushing his hands off on his pants.

"I have a huge, crazy favor to ask of you that you probably aren't going to like even a little."

"….And that would be?"

I let out a long breath and chewed my lip.

"When you go out today… If you happen upon some strangers…" He frowned further.

"What are you talking about?"

"Dammit." I grumbled, then decided I would just spit it out. "You are going to run into a group of dwarves sometime in the next few days. Please don't shoot them, no matter how obnoxious they might be. They are going to be in desperate need of help."

"Dwarvevs?! And how do you know this?" He demanded, his easy going demeanor suddenly vanishing. I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Because they are the friends I was separated from."

"…In Mirkwood."

"Yes."

"… And would the Elf-King Thranduil have anything to do with this?"

"….Yes."

"Gods be damned, Talya!"

"I know! I know!"

He sighed and dragged a hand through his hair.

"I can not do this. The Master would never allow me to bring these strangers, these dwarves, into town."

"….I know. You'd have to smuggle them in."

"…Smuggle them? Am I a pirate now, Talya?"

I fought a ridiculous urge to laugh, considering how much like William Turner from Pirates of the Caribbean he looked like, but I somehow managed to smoother it. Who said I wasn't growing up?

"I would have to bribe a great many people. How am I to afford that?"

"They will pay you. I swear it."

"A pittance, no doubt. Dwarves are not known for their generosity."

"Keep the dress I came here wearing. Sell it, or save it for the wedding of one of the girls."

"No doubt I would be able to fetch a fine price for it, if anyone in town could afford such a thing. People these days are too worried about filling their stomachs to spend coin on fancy clothing."

I hesitated and bit my lip.

"My bow." I said suddenly. Bard's eye brows shot up in surprise. "It is elven made and you will find no bow lighter with such force and accuracy."

I gently tugged the bow from its place on my shoulder and, though I hesitated, I passed it over to Bard. I had seen him admire it from afar, but this was the first time he had a chance to look at it up close, to run his hands over the delicately carved wood. He was looking at it like it was a work of art.

"These dwarves must mean a lot to you to give up such a weapon. It is priceless."

"So are good friends."

Bard was silent for an agonizingly long time. I could practically see the indecision written on his face. He finally sighed.

"I do not know what I am getting myself into," He grumbled. I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding.

"Thank you, Bard. You have no idea how much this means to me."

I hated giving up the bow Galadriel had given to me. I felt like a piece of me was ripped away with it, but I hated sitting around and not doing anything more. I wasn't sure if Bard would have ended up smuggling the company in without my prodding or not, but it was a risk I was not willing to take, particularly after realizing that I had come to be a major part of this story, whether I wanted to be or not.

After Bard left, I began to scour the town for Kingsfoil. I knew that Tauriel would need it to save Kili, and again, I found myself unwilling to leave this up to chance. After diving into a few pig pens, much to the shock of farmers, I had a few salvageable handfuls that I immediately brought back to the house to wash. Sigrid and Bain seemed to sense that something was up because they both began to work off their own nervous energy, Bain by mending nets and Sigrid by cleaning house. Tilda shadowed me as she usually did, and I found myself finally finishing the story of Beauty and the Beast over dinner.

When I could think of nothing else to do to prepare for the companies arrival, I eventually settled down upstairs in what had become my room. It had been the girls, but they had moved Sigrid's bed into Bains' room for the time being, and the sisters shared a bed.

Once I had set my head down on the pillow, I was surprised at how exhausted I really was. It wastrue that I had not slept well the past few nights, but I think it was the overwhelming anxiousness that had settled in my chest. I was hoping that I had not done anything to fuck things up mostly, but I was also dreading finally facing Thorin now that I had realized that I *loved* him. Would he really be disgusted? Or worse, I thought, would he feel nothing but pity?

I must have dozed at some point, because when something jerked me awake, it was nearly pitch black. I glanced briefly out the window to find that the night was cloudy, not even the moon shining through the clouds. I sat up slowly, but froze when I heard noises downstairs. For a moment, I was about ready to pass it off as Bard in the kitchen, but when I heard Tilda's quiet voice, my heart was suddenly in my throat.

"Will they break us luck?"

Despite the exhaustion I felt earlier, I suddenly felt as though I could run a marathon. I quickly slipped out of bed and threw the elven cloak over my shoulders. With my pulse thudding in my ears, I began to make my way down the stairs.

"I thought you said no one else was here?" I heard Dwalin demand when I had stepped on a creaky step.

"I did not say that. I said there was no one to concern yourself with."

"Let us decide who to concern ourselves with," Dwalin snapped back.

"Look, Dwarf, the only reason you are even here is because of her."

"Her?" That came from Thorin.

I tried to take a few steadying breaths before I stepped into the room. I felt tears well up in my eyes in shear relief of seeing all thirteen dwarves and one hobbit before me. Granted, they were all filthy and looked hungry, and poor Kili was pale, but they were here. Alive.

"Hey, guys," I said, rather lamely.

"Talya…"

"Thank Mahal…"

Suddenly I was being mobbed. Bilbo hugged me solidly around the middle while Fili and Kili all but tackled me from the sides. I was given so many hugs and words of welcome that I hardly knew what to say. When finally the crowd began to recede, I realized that only Dwalin and Thorin had remained where they stood. Dwalin looked irritated while Thorin's face was merely passive. I felt a painful lurch when I looked in his eyes and saw nothing.

"How did you come to be here, lassie? Thranduil has us believe…." Balin trailed off, obviously not wanting to say allowed just what the fucker had them believing. I glanced at Kili, then to Bard, almost apologetically.

"Tauriel," I stated simply. As if on cue, Kili's head snapped up to look at me, eyes searching. "She was supposed to bring me to the master as a gift. But after a long talk… She said she couldn't allow me to be turned over to such a man, and instead left me at the edge of town. She told me to tell everyone I had been separated from my kin and that she was tasked with delivering me to the nearest settlement. I came to the Master, who come to find out is a seedy, creepy, perverted old asshole, and asked for refuge. He offered me a place to stay with him and the look in his eyes told me exactly how I could repay him…" I trailed off and shuddered a little at the thought of that creeps hands on me.

"I was very close to telling him to go to hell when Bard here was kind enough to speak up. Though whether he was saving me from the Master, or the Master from me, I don't really know."

I grinned at Bard and he smiled despite himself. Thorin frowned.

"And you did this out of the goodness of your heart?" He asked, very much sarcastic.

"I am not greedy, nor am I cruel. I would not allow anyone, woman or otherwise, to fall under the Master's thumb." Bard replied tartly.

Thorin grunted, but before he could reply, I cleared my throat.

"Alright, guys. Let's get you all dried off and in some clean clothes. You kind of… stink."

"We just crawled out of a toilet. Of course we stink." Bofur grumbled.

"Sigrid, Tilda, why don't you two find some towels for these guys? Bard, Bain… I am sure you guys could find some clothes you could lend them while their things are washed and dried."

When at long last, everyone was dried off and in clean clothes, the girls and I set the company up in front of the fire place. Every spare towel, blanket, and scrap of cloth had gone towards making them comfortable and I really hoped that they had given Bard a fair amount of pay. He had yet to gripe about it, so I could only assume he had no complaints.

"Are you alright, Kili?" I asked softly, crouching next to him after everyone was settled.

"As you have always said, I will live."

I frowned at his tone and tugged at the blanket to look at the hole in his leg. I winced.

"Oin has already seen to it, Talya. I will be fine." He looked me over. "Are you alright? When Thranduil told us what he had done… I don't think any of us could have forgiven ourselves if that is what had truly befallen you. I have never seen Uncle so distraught."

"I'm fine, Kili. Bard has been nothing but a gentleman."

"Good. Anyone of us would kill him if he so much as laid a hand on you."

I rolled my eyes and finally lowered myself to sit next to Kili. He let out a breath of air, but stopped, as though he had been about to speak. I glanced at him and, by the expression on his face, had a good feeling who he wanted to talk about, if not what.

"So. Tauriel, huh?" I asked quietly. He practically choked.

"How… Did she..? I mean… What?" He sputtered. I laughed.

"Just spit it out, Kili." He gave me a dirty look, obviously not amused by my obvious amusement. He sighed.

"You said you two talked, earlier."

"Yeah."

"What did you say to her?"

"We talked about a lot. Why?"

"Because," Kili grunted in frustration. "She changed."

"How so?"

"Because… Before she left, I assume to take you here, she often came down to the prisons. She never talked much and seemed very aloof. I would talk to her but she would ignore me. But when she came back… She spoke to Thorin, first, though what of I could not say. All I know of that is he said she claimed you were well. I do not know what proof she offered, but he seemed rather certain that you were, at least, still alive.

"I asked her about you when she passed, and she seemed surprised that we all cared so much for your welfare. I told her that we had been through much together, and that you were just as much a member of our group as any other. She had smiled then… and suddenly we talked. About everything under the moon and sun. She was no longer some high and mighty elf…She became so much more real. I am not sure if she talked to me because I was the only one willing, or if she had another reason…

"I began to look forward to her nightly visits, mostly because it was a break from the boredom of sitting in a cage all day with naught to do. But as I learned more about her…."

He trailed off, seeming embarrassed. I smiled.

"You don't have to explain it to me, Kili. I understand. Maybe it was the fact that you were the only one to speak to her the way you did that first caught her eye. Maybe it was your easy smiles and laugh that kept her coming back Say anything you want about elves, but most of them hold a lot of joy in life and in little things. I don't think there is much in Mirkwood to be joyful about, so naturally your easy nature attracted her."

He fell silent and I watched a small blush crawl up his cheek. I tried not to laugh, since he was obviously embarrassed. Ever the mouthy-one, he decided to back track.

"A joy in little things?" Kili smirked. "I'll have you know, that despite the fact that we are shorter then elves, I can guarantee you there is nothing little about us."

I choked on a laugh then, trying not to wake the others who had slowly started to doze. We sat back and just enjoyed the fact that we were all reunited for now. I was about ready to say goodnight to Kili when Fili plopped down next to us, apparently having grown tired of Nori's loud snoring.

"We are truly glad you are alright, Talya." He said, bumping my shoulder with his own. "Had anyone touched even a hair on your head, they would have had to answer to us."

"So Kili said," I muttered dryly. He and his brother shared a smirk followed by a long drawn out look.

"So… Talya… Why did you give our Uncle your necklace?"

I froze and something about the way Fili said it made me pause.

"I sent it with Tauriel to give to Thorin so that you guys would know I was alive and well."

The brothers exchanged another look.

"You could not have written a note, or simply passed on a message?" Kili asked, serious suddenly.

"Because I didn't think about it. I just thought if I passed along something personal to him, that it would have more meaning."

Another look.

"Would you two stop that?" I snapped.

"Why did you give send it to Thorin and not Balin? Or Ori? Or me?" Fili asked.

"Or me?" Finished Kili.

"Why does it matter?!" I hissed, irritated that they seemed to be dancing around the answer.

Fili let out a long sigh and shook his head.

"Do you not remember Beorns?" I frowned and suddenly I remembered why it mattered so much that I gave Thorin my necklace, and had thought to give it to no one else. My mouth went dry and I sat back suddenly.

"I gave it Thorin because… he was the first one I thought of." I admitted softly, damn near silently. I hated them for a moment, for making me admit it out loud. I stood up, suddenly not able to bear the conversation anymore. "But it doesn't matter."

Kili opened his mouth to speak, but Fili put his hand on his brothers shoulder and shook his head. I wasn't sure if Fili figured I had enough of their badgering or what, but I was grateful.

"Good night," I said stiffly.

I made my way back upstairs slowly. I couldn't believe I had been so blind. I had all but told Thorin that I held affection for him, whether I meant to or not. The fact that it was true didn't matter. It was what he would think that I worried about.

I crept into my room and closed the door behind me. My earlier feelings of happiness at being reunited with the company had all but dissolved. Granted, I was still relieved that they were alright, and they had all made it here but now I didn't know how I felt.

Quietly, there was a knock on the door and I frowned, seriously hoping that Fili and Kili had decided they had not pestered me enough. I hesitated, thinking briefly about pretending to be asleep, when the knock came again, a little more insistent. I sighed and walked back to the door, opening it slowly.

It was Thorin.

"May I come in?" I could make nothing of his tone. I was terrified of being there with him, unsure of what he would say.

"Of course," I answered, my voice a lot steadier then I would have thought. I stepped back and allowed him to pass. I closed the door behind him an watched as he took a few steps into the room and looked around.

"Bard has treated you well?" He asked, quiet. He was looking outside.

"Yeah. He's put a roof over my head and gave me food. All he asked of me was to continue his kids' education."

There was a pause, and Thorin turned to face me. After a moment he walked slowly to stand just in front of me. He glanced down for a moment and when his eye rose to meet mine, I searched his face, confused. He was so very serious, but his eyes were so gentle.

"Talya…." He breathed softly. Then he very gentle wrapped his arm around my waist, bring his other arm just behind my shoulders and he embraced me. I tentatively put my arms around him and leaned into his warmth, his familiar and comforting scent enveloping me.

"I feared…" He swallowed hard. "We feared we would never see you again."

After a moment, we both let our arms drop and he stepped back just enough to give us breathing room.

It was then that something caught my eye. There, around his neck, was a very familiar looking silver chain.