A/N It has been a long time since I have updated and I do apologise. I have been so busy lately with school and work and apparently the flu too. I am so sorry that you had to wait, but I appreciate your patience. I thank you for all the wonderful comments that you have left and I am so blessed to have awesome people like you interested in my work.
When Kili and Camellia made it down to the dining hall, food was already on the table and half of it was already on the dwarves' plates. They were barely noticed as they shuffled into the room and took a seat at the table.
"Is that all you're wearing?" Balin asked Camellia in hushed tones.
"Yeah. It would have taken me quite a while to get dressed, mostly because I don't know where my clothes are, so I just threw this on. You've seen me in less. Or is it offensive to be in a dressing gown that covers more than a fighting attire?"
"You're feistier than usually," Bofur commented between bites.
"A good night's rest and a nice hot bath did wonders for my attitude." She took a roll from a centre basket. "Also makes me pretty hungry." She stole a dollop of mashed potatoes from the plate across from her and dropped it onto her own. No one bothered to stop her, mostly because they barely noticed she took anything, and partly because they knew she would win. Once they food was emptied from the plates and into the stomachs of the dwarves, the hall was filled with song and heavy drinking.
After a few hours, the words were not only slurred, but incoherent. The dwarven songs were no longer songs, just a string a sounds that attached themselves to some sort of melody. Camellia sat in an old armchair by the fire, still dressed in her bathrobe, as she watched the dwarves. A few of them had passed out on the floor and a few others on the table. The homeowners had taken away their sources of ale several hours ago, but they continued to carry around their mugs and take swigs from them. Camellia had swung her legs over the arm of the chair and placed her feet near the fire. The heat felt good on her bare toes. It's been such a long time since she was able to relax like this.
Before long, she too had begun to fall asleep.
A bright sun hung overhead, its rays reflecting on the pale sands of the shore; a cool blue water lapped at the sand, depositing shells; seagulls spoke up above, providing little bits of shadow of the world below. This place was far from any town and certainly far from the old kingdom under the mountain. Camellia laid in the warm sand, engulfed by the bright sun. It was peaceful here. There was no dragon to worry about, no cold wind to nip at her skin, everything was perfect. The dwarves were creating noise over on her left, splashing in the waters and building castles out of the sand. The warmth was of no class to any other she had ever felt before. It was not overly hot like it was the day they marched through the forest after the rain, and nor was it the cool warmth that greeted the north every years for a few days. It was a perfect warmth, one that started from the outside and made its way inside. A sense of peace filled Camellia's heart. This was where she wanted to spend the rest of her life, by the sea.
Her sunbathing was interrupted when a large wave crashed on the shore, coating her legs with water. She was not the only one that had been attacked by the water. Most of the dwarves were near the water's edge when the wave approached. A smile crept on her face, just as a cold breeze blew across the beach, tousling Camellia's hair and making it difficult to see. The beige sand was coated in a black resin and the sky grew dark. The beach had disappeared and was replaced by wooden halls and a smouldering fireplace. She woke in the armchair, the fire was nothing but cold orange ashes that sat on the stone of the fireplace. A small sliver of moon sat beyond the window in the purple canvas of night sky. Camellia was considerably warmer when she fell asleep, but now, the cold lake air nipped at her skin.
The floor was littered with dwarves. The wooden floorboards creaked under her weight and echoed against the empty walls. There wasn't much space for her feet between the dwarves, but she succeeded in exiting the room without waking any of them. She started her ascend up the stairs, but the stairs shrieked louder than the floor. She tried shifting her weight onto the railing, but the railing was nearly as loud as the stairs. Feeling that it couldn't get better, she ran up the stairs two at a time to get it over with as soon as she could. The air upstairs was warmer, but it wasn't as warm as she would have wished it could have been. The hallway was dark, with no windows to light the walls, and Camellia could barely find her way to the bedroom. The small window let in just enough of the moon's light to show her the way to the soft and warm bed. She fell asleep almost instantly once she curled up under the covers.
The sun was absent the next morning. A thick veil of clouds covered the sky, leaving the sun hidden and Lake Town covered in shadows. A cool breeze fell over the lake, lowering the town's temperature by tens. The end of summer was fast approaching as was Durin's Day. Camellia rolled out of bed, her feet were the first to feel the cool dampness of the home on its wooden floor. It was much colder downstairs, even with the fire lit in the hearth.
"I've been thinking," she announced to the heavy-eyed dwarves, "We hiked up here to make it to the mountain before," she made her voice deeper and a lot more mocking, ""the last light of Durin's Day"," she returned her voice to normal, "and we haven't reached the mountain yet."
"The lassie's right!" Bofur exclaimed. "That's comin' up soon!"
"Why don't we leave at noon? It'll give us a headstart." And so, they left the small town by the lake after they had finished their lunch. The frigid air from the lake had drifted over the grassy plains to the north, following the company like flies to a light. They had reached the mountain by nightfall of the third day, but they still had a long way to go before they reached the hidden door.
Snow had begun to fall by the time they had reached the base of the mountain. None of it had stayed, for the ground was still too warm, but it had flecked the heads of the company. The base of the mountain was not a good place for a camp, but it was all they had. The ground was rocky and lacked vegetation. There was no brush or wood to start a fire with. The night was cold and they were hungry, but there was little they could do about it.
The dwarves had a hard time getting comfortable on the stony ground. The land was sharp and malicious, leaving punctures on exposed skin. The wind picked up and took bites out of their faces. It was not starting out as a very good way to spend the night.
"Look at her," Dori started. He was watching Camellia. She had curled into a ball and fell asleep. The wind had taken her blanket and tossed it aside, but she seemed unbothered.
"Could you stop?" a petite voice called. "Your incessant staring is making it hard to sleep." She opened one of her eyes. "Don't give me that. You know it's a lot colder up in Forodwaith." She turned her back to the group and closed her eyes once again. The blanket lay forgotten on the ground next to her as she descended back into sleep.
The sky was blue and clear, the sun shining brightly down upon the group, but no warmth came. The morning was cooler than the night before. They began their climb up the mountain. There were passageways and there were spots where they had to climb, but the journey up the mountain was not an easy one. It took two days from the base to reach the top. The sun had begun to set and they were all getting excited. As the sun lowered itself in the sky, they all waited on the tips of their toes to see the hidden dwarf door, but they saw nothing. The sun had descended below the horizon and Durin's Day had ended. They were no closer to reclaiming their kingdom than they were at the start of the day. All of their efforts were in vain.
Thorin threw down the key, both saddened and angry that he had travelled all this way to be let down. Most of the company started back down the mountain, seeing the lost cause and wanting to be far away from the disappointment as possible. Bilbo, however, had not wanted to give up. He left his soft armchair for this and he was not going to leave just yet. Camellia was just too tired to climb back down the mountain so she leaned herself against the side of the mountain and closed her eyes. Kili opted to stay with her and Fili opted to stay with Kili, leaving four people behind at the door that they could not see.
The moon slowly lifted into the sky, splashing the rock with a cold light. Bilbo's eyes lit up as the light of the moon hit the rock face. "Wait!" He called. "Come back!" He scrabbled around for the key, shuffling and darting his eyes around. His large feet hit it and sent it flying toward the edge of the cliff. Camellia had grabbed it before it had fallen over.
"Why do you need this now?" She began as she stood up, as tired and irritated as the rest of them. "We fa-"Her eyes landed on spot that a beam of the moon's light had struck. There was the key hole, right in front of them, hidden by the shadow of the mountain face. Thorin had come back just a moment earlier. She handed him the key, still in awe that what they were searching for was right there. The door swung open, exposing the darkened corridors of the lost kingdom. They had found the door. They did not fail. The dwarves of Erebor had returned home.