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.)

Someone was pounding on the door and I lifted my head from its place on Thorin's chest. He grumbled as he woke, stretching like a big cat and letting out a hearty yawn.

"This had better be important…!" He called out grumpily, barely even bothering to lift his head.

"Thranduil has called us to attendance 'ere we leave," Balin's voice called. Thorin muttered a harsh curse.

"Can he not wait until the hour is later? The birds have yet to rouse!" He complained, loudly.

"He has insisted, Thorin," Came Balins' reply. Thorin growled and grumbled and I couldn't help but laugh at him. He glanced at me and glared mockingly at me.

"And so it starts. We are not yet back in our halls and already I am being summoned to and fro." I sat up as he slid away from me. In all his naked glory, he stood up and walked to a pile of his travelling clothes and began to dutifully pull them on. I watched and admired him for a few moments before I, too, slid out of bed and began to dress in the travelling clothes Ori had brought for me a few days before.

After my new undergarments, tough hide breeches were first, then heavy boots, followed by a long sleeved tunic, snug on my frame, that I secured around my waist with a finely wrought belt, and lastly, a nearly knee -length leather vest, much like the one Thorin had worn to battle. Bracers and sword came next and lastly, my thick cloth-and-fur cloak that was still lumped on the floor from the previous night. Before I could pick it up, Thorin had snagged it up in his hand and held it up with a small and playful smile on his lips.

"Is this yours?" He asked innocently. I stepped towards him and tried to tug it out of his grasp, but he easily pulled it out of my reach.

"It is indeed," I answered. "And I would like it back."

"Then I desire a kiss in exchange." He replied easily. I rolled my eyes and huffed, but was secretly adoring this playful side of him. We exchanged a light kiss and, before I could pull away, Thorin reached forward and gripped my belt in his hand, tugging me closer. He was about to kiss me again when Balin pounded on the door again.

"It should not take you this long to get dressed, laddie." Balin called out, a note of amusement to his voice. Thorin made a despairing noise in the back of his throat and let go of my belt. He took my hand in his and pressed a kiss to the back of it before he led me out the door and into the hall where Balin, Gandalf, and Bilbo where waiting. I gave the wizard a warm smile, as I had not seen much at all of him in the past few weeks. He winked merrily at me and tipped his hat in my direction.

"We are to meet in the throne room," Balin said. Thorin snorted.

"If he thinks to intimidate me…." He started to growl.

"Thorin, relax." I interrupted. "Let's wait to see what he wants before we go and start making theories, kay?"

He grumbled then and I saw Gandalf attempt to hide a smile.

Balin led the way up the long and winding staircase to the platform in which Thranduil's throne lay with Thorin and I following behind. The platform was much larger than I had expected and held a large number of Thranduil's own people, Bard and a small host of his people as well as our company, Dain, and the dwarves he had travelled with.

Thranduil, dressed immaculately as usual, with his tined crown on his head, stood before us, watching as we came to a stop mere feet from him.

"Thorin Oakenshield, King under the Mountain, and Talya Shadowbane, his future Queen." Thranduil called out, inclining his head ever so slightly in our direction. That was probably the most polite he had ever been and I wanted to applaud him.

"Thranduil, King of Mirkwood," Thorin replied, dipping his head ever so slightly. Thranduil's eye twitched ever so slightly at the name of Mirkwood, but otherwise remained quiet.

"King Thranduil," I bowed my own head quite a bit more than the other two if only to show no hard feelings. Mostly. Thranduil regarded me for a long moment.

"Contracts have been drawn up and are to be signed ere your peoples leave this realm." He finally said, glancing between Bard and Thorin.

"He dragged us out of our bed for that…?" Thorin grumbled lowly. Thranduil arched a long brow and I knew he had heard Thorin.

"Indeed, Thorin, son of Thrain. If my people were not to have a peaceful rest last night, then I hardly find it fair for you to have one this morn." Thranduil said sardonically. Thorin narrowed his eyes and I frowned, confused.

"May I remind you how well noise travels in halls of stone? Or how keen an elf's ears are?" The elven-king asked, very nearly exasperated. I tried so hard not to groan then as I realized exactly what he was referring to. Thorin grinned suddenly, quite pleased with himself. I resisted the urge to punch him then, deciding it would be rude in such company.

"Once the contracts are signed, I invite you all to break your fast before you leave. I have a few matters that I wish to attend to ere you depart from these halls."

Thranduil flicked a hand and his people suddenly began to mill around, drawing forth three pieces of parchment paper and leading the dwarves and men to the dining halls. Thorin and Bard both stepped forward at the same time and I rolled my eyes as the two glared at each other briefly before taking turns to scrawl their names at the bottom of each copy. Gandalf followed along and signed as witness, being a mutual friend to all three and having no claim on any of them.

Once that was done, Thranduil glanced at Thorin and Bard.

"If you would join me at my table, then." He turned and walked away, all too confident that the two would follow behind. Man and Dwarf groused under their breaths and I squeezed Thorin's hand if only to remind him to play nice. I left his side then and walked towards Bilbo and the others who had stayed behind to wait for me.

"You look very fine in those clothes," Ori commented, smiling warmly at me. He seemed pleased with the work and I dipped my head to him.

"I look only as fine as the clothes themselves, Master Ori," I returned. He blushed at the praise and reached out to give him a quick side-hug.

"So what do you think they are going on to discuss, lass?" Balin asked conversationally. I shrugged.

"Who knows? I just hope Thorin keeps his temper long enough for us to leave in peace, rather than in pieces."

Bifur grumbled something and the others nearly choked laughing. I immediately looked to Bofur for a translation.

"He says 'Thorin should be in a fine mood this morning, unless the elves misheard.' Care to tell us what he means by that, Talya?" Bofur waggled his eyes at me and I leaned over enough to punch his arm, solidly. Bifur held up his hands in surrender, backing away wisely.

"Ow! Hey now! That actually sort of stung!" Bofur complained.

"Yeah well, you deserved it."

"At least it wasn't your eye," Kili commented, glancing my way with a sly grin. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Or your' balls." Fili added. "After the little stunt you pulled the other night while sparring with Uncle, I'm likely to keep myself covered any time we fight."

We were passing both Elves and Men now and Fili's words were met with a mixture of shock and disgust. Bilbo shushed him loudly.

"Now, is that any way to talk in polite company?" He asked, frustrated.

"Polite company?" Bofur asked. "Whats so polite about it?"

Bilbo huffed and made his way to our table. We all found our places and settled in to our usual spots, with Fili and Kili to either side of me, Bilbo, Nori, and Bofur across from me. We fell to eating and talking casually of our trip ahead.

"Dain thinks it should take us about nine days to reach Erebor," Balin said, munching a hard roll.

"So long? Truly?" Gloin asked, surprised. Even I was shocked he thought it would take so long.

"Aye," Balin swallowed and took a sip of his mead. "If it were perhaps just us, the going would not be so slow. But there will be Elves accompanying us,"

Kili shifted in place at this and I elbowed him, grinning and he blushed furiously.

"…With the provisions promised to us. They should not slow us up too much, but Master Bards' people will be following behind too."

"No wonder it'll take ages," Groused Dori. "Slow and meandering, those folk are!"

I glanced over at Dori as he complained and I swallowed my mouthful of toast.

"What folk would those be?" I asked sweetly.

"Ah… Those of men. Not that you are slow and meandering!"

"Ah, Dori didn't mean anything by it," Fili said. "We think of you as one of us."

"Just beardless." Kili added.

"And kind of scrawny." Nori continued.

"Aw, don't insult her like that!" Bilbo said, winking my way. "She is much more like a fine hobbit lass."

"Just hairless." Kili said, smirking.

"And still kind of scrawny." Nori added, grinning.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. I was glad that we had fallen back into the same easy comradery we had had while we were still travelling. I wondered if that would change when we reached home.

I sat back slowly then, realizing that all too soon, Bilbo would be travelling back to the Shire and Gandalf, too, would be taking his leave. I sighed softly and realized that there had been far too many goodbyes on this quest already. I wasn't sure if I was ready for more.

Once breakfast was over, we all headed back to where we had laid ours heads the past few weeks and gathered up what belongings we had. Of everything I had started off on this journey with, nothing remained to me from my old world save for the dog tags that Thorin wore. The belongings I could truly call my own were few. My bow and my sword. The three sets of new clothes I now owned. My bracers were the only armor I had left, the fine elven set having been all but destroyed during the battle. Last, but most certainly not least, were the beads in my hair, and the ring at my throat. With my full gear on, I had only a small satchel to carry in which my clothes were packed and extra food stored.

Slowly, we began to make our way outside. It was mid-morning by the time everyone had gathered outside. It was an odd sight to see, dwarves, elves, and men standing, if not together, but close by, their belongings hanging loosely in their grip.

Bard was atop his white stallion, the small group of his men he had travelled with gathered close by. The rest, I was assured, would meet us just outside of Mirkwood.

Thranduil stood with his hands clasped in front of him, tall and proud, looking out over the elves as they prepared the horse-drawn wagons of food.

Dain and his folk were there too, dressed in their full gear and anxious to leave.

Thorin and our company were the last to emerge into the autumn sun. I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness. I had not been outside since the battle, and I felt myself breathe deep, eager to taste the fresh air.

Thorin and I walked to where Gandalf was saddled on Dreysill and I grinned to find Grey-mane saddled next to him. Thorin waited while I moved on ahead to wrap my arms around the horse. He tossed his head and butted me soundly, lipping at my clothes as he pulled away.

"I'm sorry," I said softly. "I had not even thought to ask if you were alright."

I scratched his neck and he nickered softly. I smiled and went to his side where I gripped the horn of the saddle and easily swung myself up into the seat.

"Thorin, are you riding as well?" I asked. He looked up at me and shook his head.

"No, thankfully. Riding is all well and good, but dwarves belong with their feet on the ground." He patted Grey-manes side and walked ahead to stand before Thranduil, Gandalf and I both following behind.

"I will send your people home to you as soon as we reach our halls." Thorin said stiffly.

"And as soon as you give them the jeweled necklace owed to me," Thranduil prompted, icily. Thorin's jaw worked under his beard and I cleared my throat.

"It will be as promised," I said. Both Kings glanced at me and, to my credit, I did not even blink.

"Farewell, King Thranduil. I thank you for your hospitality and for your help." I continued, bowing my head to him. He watched me cautiously.

"You are welcome," He finally said. "If it is acceptable to you, Thorin, King of Erebor, I would request that your lady wife acts as liaison betwixt our people."

Now I did blink at that. I was fairly certain Thranduil hated me with a fiery passion, but I supposed when compared to dwarves, I was still the lesser of two evils. Imagine that. Thorin blinked slowly and glanced to me.

"I do not speak for what Talya will or will not do." He answered carefully. Smart dwarf.

"If it will keep the peace, I would be glad to do it." I said, bowing my head again. Thranduil inclined his head towards me a fraction.

"I still think you are kind of a prick." I said then, very quietly, only because the near friendliness of the moment had me on edge. Thranduil's eye brow quirked and I swear the corner of his mouth twitched.

"And I still find you to be a fairly worthless mortal."

Thorin stiffened at that, but I just laughed.

"Maybe just a little less useless than you thought," I said with a smirk. "Novaer, tharan-ethuil."

Thranduil jerked his head up and while I had no doubt butchered the pronunciation, the fact that I even spoke a few words of Sindarin seemed to unnerve the elf-king even more. Good.

Thorin had turned to watch me to, surprised. I shrugged his way and he shook his head.

"Let's get a move on, then!" Dain called out from behind us. Thorin glanced back towards Dain briefly, then offered Thranduil one last nod before he turned to meet up with his cousin at start of the path. In a gesture I borrowed from Legolas, I touched my fingers to my brow and bowed towards him. I turned to go, but paused long enough for Thranduil to return the movement.

Gandalf and I pressed our heels into our mounts sides and we began forward. It felt good to be on the back of a horse again and I patted Grey-mane as we went.

"I did not realize you understood Sindarin," Gandalf said, glancing at me with an amused smile. I laughed.

"I don't. What you heard, and a handful of other words, is about the extent of my knowledge."

"Probably for the best," He said after a moment. I raised an eye brow at him.

"Why is that?"

"Your pronunciation is atrocious." Gandalf chided.

I laughed at that and we rode our way casually to the front of the column.

"I never claimed to be a linguist. I took four years of Spanish… A language where I come from… And all I can remember how to do is say a few cuss words, ask for a beer and, if the night was particularly rough, question the whereabouts of my pants."

Gandalf laughed heartily at that, nearly in tears and as we reached Thorin and Dain, the two glanced back.

"Have you broken our wizard, Talya?" Thorin asked, watching Gandalf, entertained by the wizard's obvious mirth.

"You know, I think I may have." I admitted. Dain glanced up at me on the back of my horse.

"Here I thought you might be a dwarven lass, despite your looks. But here I find you just as comfortable on the back of a horse as one of those woodland sprites."

"Had to learn to ride somewhere," I commented casually. Thorin sputtered and Dain hit him on the back with a meaty palm.

"I did not realize your race had such filthy minds," Dain said, grinning at poor Thorin.

"You insult me. I was an innocent and sweet young girl when I met these rascals. I think they've quite corrupted me."

Suddenly, something hard caught me in the back of the head and dirt exploded everywhere. I glanced back to find Kili and FIli grinning behind us, Kili's hand now bear, with Fili hefting another dirt clod in his hand.

"Corrupted you?" Kili called out. "And who was it that enquired to the state of my balls after a hard days' ride merely days after we met?"

"I was merely concerned for your welfare." I argued, holding my hand dramatically over my heart. "You wound me so with your accusations."

"We apologize, dear Auntie, for wounding you so." Fili said, chucking his clod at me. I ducked and it sailed over my head to explode on the ground just in front of Dain. I mock-glared at him.

"I told you not to call me that, you little asshole!" I dropped myself from Grey-manes back and tore off after Fili.

"Ah shit!" He laughed. He took off into the column as I dashed after him. Kili cheered me on as I passed.

I was closing in on Fili, who was laughing enthusiastically ahead of me. He glanced back and jerked in surprise, apparently not realizing I was so close. He stumbled a little and pushed ahead at a dead run now.

We weaved through the groups of dwarves, then men, then elves, people dodging out of our way as we went to a mixture of reactions. I was surprised to find that many and more elves were smirking at our antics and some even called out encouragement to myself or to Fili. Soon, Bards men joined in, which egged the dwarves on. It wasn't long before FIli and I had a fair audience.

I lunged at him and shouldered into the small of his back. He fell forward and landed with an 'oof', dust and dirt flying up around him. He rolled and threw out a hand and I had to heave myself to the side before he could grab me. He jumped to his feet and tackled me from the side and I sprawled into the dirt, spitting as I skid to a halt. I tried to recover, but he shot out an arm and wrapped his hand around my ankle and tugged me backwards. I kicked my foot out and caught his hand. The second he jerked away, I rolled to my back and heaved myself to my feet.

We backed away from each other then, grinning and breathing heavy.

"Are you ready to stop?" I asked. "Listen to you, huffing and puffing!"

"Look who's talking," Fili shot back. "Auntie."

I let out an irritated breath and ran at him again. I dropped my shoulder and attempted to fake to the side, but Fili snagged me and tackled me to the ground again and for the second time, I felt myself eating dirt. Fili leaned forward to press his knee on my lower back and pinned an arm behind me.

"Now whos' ready to stop?" He asked teasingly. I struggled and grumbled.

"Come on, Talya. Yield."

"Nope," I growled out stubbornly. He tugged my arm further up then, enough for it to become almost painful.

"There is no way you are getting out of this." He said, matter-of-fact.

"Really?" I asked, gritting my teeth. "No way?"

"Yup," He said. "You are far too scrawny. Might as well just give up."

I mumbled something then and I he brought his head forward.

"What was that?" He asked, grinning. "Was that you conceding?"

I muttered again and he leaned down further so that his ear was right next to my mouth. I gathered as much spit in my mouth as I could and stuck my tongue right into his ear. He made a disgusted noise and pulled away from me quickly, wiping at his ear frantically.

I rolled away from him and launched myself forward. I swung my left arm around his neck and, using my own momentum, hurled myself around to his back. I locked my right wrist around my left and tightened the crook of my elbow under his neck. I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled. We both fell backwards, landing with a solid thud on the ground.

"Too scrawny, huh?" I called, breathlessly smirking. "Yield!"

"Never!" He laughed.

I tightened my grip and he sputtered as I bent myself back.

"Come on, Fili. Just tap my arm and I'll let go. Admit defeat."

"No…" He grumbled. He was flailing uselessly. Apparently, no one used choke-holds in Middle Earth.

"Tap ouutttt," I said in a sing-song voice.

His movements were becoming very sporadic.

"Gah," He finally sputtered. He brought his arm up and tapped my arm repeatedly. I let go and rolled away to my feet to a round of applause. Fili rolled to his knees and alternated between breathing heavily and digging a finger in his ear.

"I can not believe you did that," He groused. "That was… disgusting!"

I shrugged.

"Balin once told me if I can't win in a fair fight, then to fight dirty."

"I think I might need to have a word with Balin, then." Fili staggered to his feet and let out a long breath, then looked up at me and grinned.

"I swore I would never underestimate you again." He said with a laugh, shaking his head. He held out his hand and we grasped each other's forearms. He jerked me forward and I stumbled against his chest. He caught my chin in his hand and licked from my chin to my ear and let me go.

"Ack!" I wiped at my face then with a portion of my cloak, and I glared at him. There was a moment's pause before we broke out laugh again, nearly doubled over. Our clothes, which had been that morning clean and fresh, were streaked with grass stains, mud, and dirt.

"Are you two quite done?" Thorin asked. I glanced up to find him watching with his arms crossed, Dain at his side. Though outwardly, he looked quite stern, I could tell that he found the entire thing amusing. Bard and Gandalf were close by and I realized that there was a large circle around us, the gathered crowd fairly mixed between the three races.

"Yes, Uncle," Fili answered dutifully just as I said "Yes, Thorin."

Thorin turned with a shake of his head and began to walk on ahead. The second he turned his back, I stuck my tongue out at Fili before I jogged up to Thorin's side. I bumped my shoulder gently against his and he gave a very small smile.

"That was quite a show," Bard commented, falling into step with us. He had dismounted and handed off his horse to someone else.

"Indeed. What was that you did to him?" Dain asked curiously.

"Come on. No one knows what a choke hold is?" I asked, glancing between them. I rolled my eyes when there was no answer.

"I cut off his supply of air." I shrugged. "If I tightened my grip much more, he would have passed out."

"Wouldn't that kill him?" Bard asked. I let out an exasperated breath.

"Yeah, if I held on for like ten minutes. It takes a bit to choke someone out. It takes quite a bit more to strangle them."

"You have a fierce woman, cos." Dain said with a laugh. "I am not sure if I envy you, or if I fear for you."

"Both is probably wise," Bard commented.

A/N: "Novaer, tharan-ethuil." Thranduil's name is based off of the Sindarin words tharan (vigorous) and ethuil (spring). Novaer is 'farewell'.

With as high and mighty as Thranduil always acts, Talya can't help but make digs at him, particularly if she knows what she says will unnerve him.