Hey, ya'll! Sorry this update took a little longer. School was kickin' me around and I did get a little stuck in some parts, wondering what to do or how to make certain things work, but I got it all sorted! :)

I know after the last cliffhanger, you all now have a little bit more hope than you did the chapters before then xD So do enjoy this one...while you can! ;)

There's also a small reference hidden in this chapter...see if you can find it! :) (Hint: it's a song that pretty much any Hobbit fan would hopefully know! xD)

.

The whole company of Dwarves all sat around in silence, still feeling the effects that Aira's song had had on them. Somehow, they all knew that Aira was beginning to lose hope after everything that had happened and that unfortunate truth dampened their spirits. She was always the most hopeful one of them all and if even she was starting to give up, then things were definitely grim, indeed. They knew that, for her, it mostly was because of Kili, but they knew she was also very torn up and feeling guilty about Thorin's key getting stolen by the Elvenking and them being imprisoned, which was keeping them from ever getting it back.

Even happy-go-lucky Bofur was feeling low and depressed and it was evident in his tone of voice as he broke the heavy silence, which seemed to last for a long time, and said, "I'll wager the sun is on the rise…must be nearly dawn…!"

Then Ori spoke up, sadly, "We're never going to reach the mountain, are we…?"

For a moment, no one answered, for they all shared the same fear and felt no sense of security in trying to think otherwise.

Things were truly starting to look down for the Dwarves.

But then, suddenly, a light and familiar voice answered, "Not stuck in here, you're not!"

They all jumped to the doors of their cells and their spirits immediately lifted as they looked on and saw their burglar and friend pop out from around a corner, waving the dungeon keys in his hand.

"Bilbo!" both Balin and Aira exclaimed in surprise as he went to unlock Thorin's cell first.

The others began to cheer, but Bilbo quickly shushed them. "There are guards nearby!" he whispered loudly. Then he opened Thorin's cell, gave him a reassuring nod and then moved on to the next one.

Even though he didn't quite show it on the outside, on the inside, Thorin was pleased to see Bilbo. During their days in the dungeons, he had had faith that the burglar would find them…which surprised him. It had been a long time since he had learned to have faith in anything. And, for perhaps the first time in forever, it had paid off.

Bilbo let Balin out of his cell and then made his way over one of the small bridges to Aira's cell.

"I thought those spiders had gotten you," she said to him, relieved to see him.

"They almost did, but I showed them that I'm tougher than I look," he replied with a wink as he opened her door. Then he moved over to Fili's cell.

Right away, Aira spotted Thorin across the way and made her way to him in what felt like only three strides, right into his open arms. The feel of her father's consoling embrace was something she had sorely needed the last few days, after all the guilt and heartbreak she had suffered, and he knew it, as well. She clung tightly to him as he gently held her close and stroked her hair.

"It's all right, Aira. I'm here," he reassured her in a whisper. "I'm here, sweetheart."

She was about to say something to him when she heard the sound of a cell door opening and then someone calling her name; a voice whom she hadn't heard speak her name in days. Thorin stepped back and Aira turned around, surprised. Before she could fully register who it was, she suddenly felt two hands firmly grasp her head and a pair of warm, familiar lips passionately met her own.

Even though she knew immediately who it was and wanted to give in to him, she pulled away in shock and looked up into a pair of bright brown eyes that gazed upon her with great love and affection.

"Kili…?" she asked, still slightly astonished.

The bright and beautiful smile she knew him to possess appeared on his face. "Yes, Aira…it's me," he breathed out in relief. "I'm here…." He took her hand, lifted it up to his chest and pressed it tenderly over his heart, which was, to her surprise, beating in unison with her own.

"And I feel you, my love," he declared, his voice completely impassioned.

Aira was stunned beyond belief, knowing he was referring to the song she had sung not long before. Was this really happening? Was Kili truly back to normal?

She looked back up into his eyes and then she saw it: that certain light in his eyes she had come to know well and had disappeared after the toxins of the forest had poisoned him; the light he got in his eyes whenever he looked at her that emanated his deep love and devotion to her. Upon seeing this, Aira's heart leapt with joy.

The Kili she knew and loved was back.

With that newfound realization in mind, Aira them removed her hand from his chest and proceeded to smack him hard across the face.

The sound of her hand striking his cheek echoed a little in the dungeons and the others, most of them now already freed from their cells, all turned their heads in surprise.

"You insufferable cad!" Aira hissed in a low yet heated voice at Kili, who was rubbing his reddened cheek. "Have you any idea what awful pain and misery you have put me through?"

"I know, I know and I'm so sorry…," he said, embarrassed and timid. "I was not myself. I said some very horrible things to you that I would never dare say to you if I was in my right mind. I know I do not deserve your forgiveness for—"

His words were halted when her hands cupped his face and her mouth covered his, stopping him from talking with a desperate yet ardent kiss. While he was a bit confused regarding her reaction, the feel of her lips on his was something he would never refuse and he didn't resist.

After a short moment, Aira broke the kiss and then threw her arms tightly around Kili's neck, immersing her hands in his hair as he put his arms around her in return.

"We both said horrible things to each other…," she whispered, acknowledging that the things she had said were wrong and also assuring him in a way that she didn't hold what he had done against him, "…but we'll discuss that later! I'm just so relieved that you're back!"

Kili pressed a gentle kiss to her neck and then whispered in her ear, "I love you, Aira."

A small, happy whimper escaped Aira's lips and her heart leapt once more at hearing those three wonderful words from him again. Then, with a single tear falling down her cheek, she replied, "I love you, too, Kili."

A couple feet away from the young couple, Bilbo, who looked utterly puzzled, leaned over to Balin next to him and asked, "Uh…did I miss something? What exactly happened with those two while I was gone?"

"It's a long story, laddie…!" Balin answered with raised eyebrows, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

Fili then approached his younger brother and, similar to Aira's initial reaction, he punched him hard in the shoulder, making him grunt in pain.

"That was for all the things you said to Aira and for putting her through that wretched ordeal these last few days!" he spat. "And I'm sure I'm not the only one here who wants to hurt you right now!"

"I know," Kili groaned, rubbing his shoulder, "and I know I deserve it all, but can everyone just wait until we get out of here before they get a hit on me?"

Fili then smirked, shook his head and then pulled Kili into his embrace, more than happy to have his little brother back. Next to them, Aira was smiling brightly, trying to hold back her tears.

Deciding he would inquire about what had happened with Kili later, Bilbo then approached Aira and subtly cleared his throat. He had something very important to tell her.

Aira turned to him and then embraced Bilbo before he said anything to her. "Oh, Bilbo," she cried, "if, in the future, I do not hear songs or tales that tell of your bravery, then I shall be sorely disappointed…for someday, I hope to hear songs of Bilbo Baggins: the bravest little Hobbit of them all!"

Bilbo chuckled as they pulled apart. "Well, I rather doubt that will happen," he replied. But then he grinned and added, "However, I am sure that will be a song I wouldn't mind hearing you sing someday."

She smiled brightly at him.

Then the Hobbit fished into his pocket for something and then grinned again at her as he pulled it out, held it out to her and said, "By the way, I think this belongs to you."

She gasped in bewilderment. He had found Thorin's key!

Right away, she took it out of his hand and stared at it, her mouth curling up into a merry smile. Then she quickly re-tied the broken ends of the leather cord and then slipped it over neck.

"Bilbo, you wonderful burglar!" she exclaimed joyfully and then she did something that nobody ever expected: she took his face in her hands and kissed him hard on the mouth.

At that unexpected move, about half of the company's jaws had dropped while the other half thought their eyes were going to pop out of their heads.

After a very short moment, Aira pulled away and her hand shot up to her mouth, realizing what she had just done and that she had gotten perhaps a bit too over-excited about getting the key back. Embarrassed, her cheeks grew very hot and they turned a deep crimson. She looked around at everyone's flabbergasted expressions and then down at Bilbo, who had slightly stumbled backwards. His eyes were the widest she had ever seen, blinking rapidly, and he looked quite dazed as if he was seeing stars swirling around his head.

"Oh, Bilbo, I am so sorry…!" she apologized, trying to stifle a small laugh from looking at him but still feeling embarrassed. "I—I didn't…I just…."

"N—no, no, it's—it's all right…," Bilbo stammered, waving his hand around, still caught off guard from her kissing him and trying to regain his senses.

"I just m—meant that as—as a…friendly thank-you…f—for getting the key back…," she stuttered, feeling her face growing more and more red by the second.

"No, I—I believe you…!" he replied, no longer looking startled and back to his normal self.

Hoping to deter all the startled gawks she was receiving from the others—Kili, especially—Aira not-so-subtly cleared her throat and quickly asked, "So, what's the plan, Bilbo?"

"I've found a way out," he answered. Then he looked around the rest of the Dwarves and said in a hushed voice, "Follow me! There's a corridor down the stairs and, to be safe, I'm going to go on ahead and then have all of you come through one at a time."

They all muttered in compliance and then proceeded to follow the Hobbit down the stairs and to the entrance to the corridor.

"Stay here until I signal each of you to come down," he whispered and then quietly crept along to the end of the corridor.

While Bilbo checked to make sure the way was clear, Aira, who was in the back of the line with Kili, pulled him aside by a corner, away from the others. When he was about to ask her what she was doing, she quickly pulled him to her and kissed him deeply. Her mind and her heart were still exceedingly overwhelmed at the fact that he had regained his memories and he remembered her after days of resenting her. She couldn't hold back and wanted to be sure that it wasn't all a dream. When he immediately responded by returning her kiss and cupping her cheek gently with his hand, she knew that it was all real.

Aira broke the kiss and, with both of their eyes still closed, leaned her forehead against Kili's, lightly panting. "I thought I had lost you forever…!" she breathed, a slight tremor of emotion in her voice.

Kili's hand, still resting on her cheek, traced her skin tenderly and then brushed a lock of hair away from her eyes. "For a moment, you almost did," he replied, "but you saved me."

She leaned back a little so she could look at his face. "How? How is that possible?" she gasped.

A large, loving smile spread across his face. "It was your song," he answered, caressing her cheek. Then he explained, "Your voice has always been one of the things I've loved the most about you. When I heard you singing, I could hear your pain, your longing and, most of all, your love. I listened to you and thought that your voice sounded familiar somehow…and then suddenly I remembered the last time I heard you sing, which was when you sang a song about home back in Rivendell. I saw your face and heard your voice in my head as clear as day and then everything came back to me! Your voice dispelled the effect that the forest toxins had on my mind. It was your love that broke the curse that was over me!"

Nothing could describe how overjoyed Aira felt at hearing these words. What she had believed to be her last failed attempt had turned out to actually work and she realized that Galadriel had been right; her heart truly was her greatest ally! Her song and her emotions had come from deep within her heart and that was what had cured him…just as Galadriel had said it would. Tears of joy welled up in her eyes and, as one fell down her cheek, Kili brushed it away softly with his lips.

"I am so sorry for everything I said to you," he told her. "I was such a horrible person."

"It was not your fault, darling," she said calmly. "Your mind was corrupted by those toxins; you were not yourself. All that matters now is that it's over and you're back to normal."

"Well…I don't think I was ever normal to begin with!" Kili teased with a wink and a cheeky grin, making Aira snicker as he lightly kissed her nose.

She looked up into his twinkling brown eyes and replied, "That's the Kili I know and love!"

Just then, they heard Thorin whispering their names. The two of them moved out from the corner and found he was the only one still standing by the corridor entrance just as a shadow of another company member moved down the hall.

"We're the last ones left," he told them, gesturing for them to come over by him. "I want you two to go before me so I know you get through safely."

Just as they reached him, Thorin laid a hand on Aira's arm and then slowly reached down with his other one to the key hanging around her neck. He cradled it in his hand for a moment and then looked to Aira with a bright look in his eyes and said, "I promised you we would get it back."

She smiled. "Yes, but admit it: you didn't think Bilbo would be the one to find it."

He grinned and nodded. "Indeed, that is true." He took her hand and placed the key inside her palm. "But it has been returned and that is what matters."

Aira glanced up at Thorin, perplexed. "Even after losing it once before…you still trust me with this?" she asked.

"Aira, I would trust you with my life," he replied.

"You're not the only one who trusts me with your life…," she thought to herself.

Nonetheless, she felt better about losing the key and swore that she would better protect it this time. She took the key and tucked it underneath her shirt just as they heard Bilbo signal for the next person from down the hall. Both Kili and Thorin told Aira to go next, so she obliged and proceed cautiously down the dimly-lit corridor until she spotted Bilbo at the end, who gestured for her to take a right turn where she saw the rest of the company waiting down at the bottom of a small set of stairs. Shortly, both Thorin and Kili joined up with the rest of them and Bilbo took the lead again, telling them to carefully follow him down another stair case.

Somehow, Aira, Kili and Fili got to the front of the line as they came down the stairs and into a large room. Bilbo was still at the head and he stopped the company for a moment. Aira looked and saw two snoring Elves slumped over a table with glasses and a pitcher of wine next to their heads. She didn't even know it was possible for Elves to get drunk.

"This way, come on," Bilbo whispered, gesturing for everyone to follow.

It was then that Aira started to look around as they slowly crept down the last remaining steps. She noticed that there were tons of barrels positioned all around the room and there were shelves of wine, as well. She figured out right then where they were.

Clearly, Kili had also come to the same realization because he let out a low groan and then whispered loudly to the others behind, "Oh, I don't believe it! We're in the cellars!"

Bofur, who was right behind them, moved forward and, to Aira's slight surprise, spat at Bilbo, "You're supposed to be leading us out, not further in!"

"I know what I'm doing!" Bilbo replied, annoyed, but Bofur shushed him as he and the other Dwarves moved past the Hobbit, inspecting the pile of barrels in front of them.

"Everyone, climb into the barrels, quickly!" Bilbo whispered loud enough for the company to hear.

Dwalin pushed his way through and growled, "Are you mad? They'll find us!"

"No, no, they won't, I promise you! Please!" Bilbo frantically replied. "Please, you must trust me!"

The other Dwarves started to grumble amongst themselves, unsure and doubting what Bilbo had planned.

Aira made her way back to Bilbo and Thorin, who had lingered behind and was standing by the Hobbit.

"I trust you, Bilbo," she simply said as she stood at the bottom of the platform he stood on, trying to ease his discomfort with the rest of the company doubting him.

Bilbo gave her a nod and an uneasy smile, showing that he knew what she said was true but still wishing the others felt the same.

Both of them glanced up at Thorin, their faces practically begging him to say something to help them.

He took notice of their expressions, turned towards the others and ordered quickly in a raised yet hushed tone, "Do as he says!"

That did the trick; what the King says, goes. Right away, the other Dwarves obeyed and started climbing their way into the barrels.

Thorin gave Bilbo a nod and Aira smiled at both of them. Then the two Dwarves went to join their companions while the Hobbit stayed out to make sure everyone got in their barrels safely.

Just as Aira was about to slide into her barrel, she felt a hand lightly grasp her shoulder. She twisted around to look at Kili sticking out of his barrel beside her.

"Be safe," he whispered.

She nodded and replied, "You, too."

Then Bofur, in his barrel above them, stuck out his head and asked Bilbo, "What do we do now?"

As if on cue, the rest of the Dwarves stuck out their heads and looked towards Bilbo, waiting for his reply.

"Hold your breath," he said, turning to a lever behind him.

"Hold me breath? What do you mean?" Bofur asked.

Then suddenly the ground lurched beneath them as Bilbo pushed on the lever and opened up the hatch upon which all of the barrels sat. They all let out a startled yell as they all began rolling down, their heads spinning out of control until they suddenly fell out of the hatch and into a small cold river below.

Aira was one of the first ones to fall into the river, after Thorin, Fili and Kili. The icy cold water hit her in the face like a wall and she was soaked within seconds. Once her barrel resurfaced, she shook her head wildly to throw off the excess water on her face and in her hair. She saw that everyone else's barrels were starting to come up from under the water, spitting out water and shaking their hair and beards around.

"We're out!" cried Fili.

"We'd better get moving fast before the Elves realize we've escaped," said Balin.

"If they haven't already," Dwalin commented, casting a grimace back up towards the hatch door.

"Wait!" Aira called out, looking around. "We can't leave, Bilbo hasn't come down yet!"

Thorin, whose barrel was slightly drifting in the front, turned around and laid a hand on Dwalin's barrel next to him to keep himself in place. "He had better get down here quickly," he said. "We must go, we have no time."

"Father, I am not leaving him behind!" Aira stated firmly, knowing that was what he was implying would happen if Bilbo didn't join them soon.

"And I am not leaving you behind!" Thorin declared in return, his voice rising.

"Well, then, we are at an impasse, aren't we?" she snapped, hoping that would keep him from arguing and opposing her.

Just then, right on time, they all spotted a light above them as the hatch door from the cellars opened up and Bilbo came falling down into the water. However, unlike the rest of them, he was not in a barrel. It took a few seconds for his head to emerge from underneath the water.

"Nori!" Aira called out since he was the Dwarf furthest back, right next to where Bilbo was treading water.

"I've got him!" Nori replied as he reached over the side of his barrel and pulled the Hobbit over so he could grab on.

"Well done, Master Baggins!" Thorin said to him with a pleased grin now on his face.

Bilbo, still a bit dazed from the fall and the cold water, simply shook his head and waved his hand as if to say, "Don't mention it!"

Now that everyone was there, they were all ready to go. The current was already growing stronger and Thorin cried out, "Go! Come on, let's go!" as he started paddling his way forward with his hands with the rest of the company following suit in their barrels. In the distance, they could hear shouts echoing on the walls. The Elves knew they had escaped and were coming after them.

The current was picking up, sending the company down the river faster than they had been going. Up ahead, they could see a light and as they came around a corner, the exit of the tunnel came into view.

"Hold on!" Thorin bellowed loudly.

Aira was floating along close behind him and noticed that, at the exit, there was a waterfall. An unsettling feeling welled up in her stomach as the oncoming adrenaline started building up inside her. All she could think was that she hoped she wouldn't fall out of her barrel. Within seconds, she dropped forward down the waterfall and her sight became clouded and her mouth and barrel filled up with water.

Once she emerged, she coughed up the water she hadn't swallowed, hearing the shouts of her companions behind her as they followed down into the forest river. Her clothes were drenched and stuck uncomfortably to her body. She whipped around to see where everyone was. Thorin wasn't too far ahead of her and Nori came up right behind her with Bilbo barely holding on to the side of his barrel with Dwalin floating along behind him.

"Bilbo!" Nori suddenly cried as they bumped into Aira's barrel and he started losing his grip. He reached over and hoisted him up a little more. "Hang on!"

"Nori, don't lose him!" Aira called to him.

They were coming up on some rocks and shifts in the current. The others behind them started to drift to the side of the river. Thorin's barrel hit a drop in the water and he submerged below.

"Thorin!" Aira heard Fili cry out.

Luckily, he came right back out of the water. Aira hit the same drop and was once again overcome with a small wave. When she came back up, she then heard a high-pitched sound. She twisted around and spotted in the distance an Elf blowing a horn. Right away, she knew that wasn't good. When she looked back to the river, she saw a stone bridge, which served as a lookout point, with a metal gate underneath it that led out to the main river. To her dismay, she spotted a few Elves standing guard and one Elf running up some steps up to a large wooden lever.

"Oh, no…!" she muttered.

The Elf then pulled down on the lever and the gate in front of them started to close.

"No!" Thorin, who was now a ways ahead of her, cried just as they approached the gate. Sure enough it closed just before they could get out and Thorin ran right into it, letting out an angry groan.

Soon enough, the others began to catch up and they all bumped into each other as they had nowhere to go. They were trapped.

Aira grew worried. What were they going to do? If they couldn't find another way out, they'd be captured for sure and imprisoned again! She looked up and saw that the Elves were starting to come down.

Suddenly, there was a whizzing noise and then there was an arrow protruding from the back of one of the Elves. Just as he fell forward, a growling Orc appeared from behind him from out of nowhere.

"Watch out!" Bofur cried as the dead Elf fell into the water where they were. The body splashed right in front of Aira and she raised her hands to shield her face.

"There's Orcs!" she shouted. Just as she did so, a whole horde of Orcs appeared on the bridge, coming from the other side. The Orc pack that had been chasing them had caught up to them. The creatures came upon the Elves on the bridge and started to fight and kill them, knocking them over the bridge and either into the water or on the shore next to it.

A couple of Orcs spotted the Dwarves below and began to jump into the water towards them. However, the Dwarves were quick and would throw them off before they could do anything to them.

Aira ducked as one just barely missed her head and when she looked up, she spotted even more Orcs coming over a hill off to the side. Their numbers almost didn't seem to end.

Just then, she saw a much larger Orc emerge from behind the top of the hill and his deep, bellowing voice shouted a command in the Orc language, "Slay them all!"

Aira's blood completely froze and her heart about stopped beating. She knew that voice…a voice from her horrible past…and one she had heard back in the forest as part of the illusion she saw…she knew that Orc…!

It was Bolg, the son of Azog; an Orc almost worse than his father!

"No…not him…not him!" she thought, now panicking.

"Get under the bridge!" she heard Thorin shout.

There was a growl and an Orc suddenly jumped onto Nori, but Bilbo was quick and stabbed the foul creature right in the throat with his sword. Dwalin then elbowed one right in the face, sending it into the water. There were more Orcs coming down and the Dwarves started to fight them off. One of them lunged for Aira but she quickly ducked down inside her barrel, making the Orc miss, then came back up, punched it square in the face and then took its weapon as it fell backward, which she swung downward, severing off its head.

Just then, she saw briefly saw a foot; a Dwarven boot on the edge of her barrel which then jumped off onto land. Aira turned and found Kili had climbed out of his barrel and was now dodging the Orcs, making his way towards the stairs just as Dwalin called out to him and tossed him an Orcish sword. He was going for the lever to open the gate.

"Kili, no!" she cried.

"Snaga!"

Her heart stopped again as the Orcish word for "slave" reached her ears. She whipped back around and saw Bolg looking her way. He had recognized her and she realized her grave mistake. Bolg had heard her cry out urgently to Kili and now, she knew he would use that weakness against her; she realized she could have just sealed Kili's doom.

She heard Kili let out a grunt as he kicked an Orc in the chest and sent it right into the river. As he started running up the steps and another Orc got in his way, another one came up behind him and Fili threw an Orc dagger and killed it before it could reach his brother.

Aira's head was pounding and her heart was racing as she watched Kili fight, making his way to the lever. But, to her dismay, when she turned back around to see Bolg, she saw him pull out a giant bow and was readying the arrow, his teeth baring in anticipation for a kill.

"No!" she screamed, but it was too late. With a roar, Bolg released the arrow so fast, Aira almost didn't even see it fly, but in a second she heard the sound of it piercing flesh.

Horrified, she whipped around, looked up and saw the arrow sticking out from Kili's knee. He was standing right next to the lever, but had stopped, startled, from the sudden shock of being shot.

"Kili!" both Aira and Fili cried out, panicking.

Underneath the bridge, Thorin was frozen with dread. He didn't see what had happened, but upon hearing Fili and Aira's screams, he feared the worst. "Kili…!" he whispered in fear.

Kili's grunts and groans of pain as he leaned on the lever, trying to keep himself up, tore Aira apart. This was her fault! She had shown weakness in front of Bolg and, knowing her, he took that advantage. She had just gotten Kili back after the chaos of his memory loss and now she was about to lose him again. The sight of him falling to the ground with an arrow in his leg, crying out in pain, was almost too much for her to bear.

"NO!" she shouted, feeling her worry for Kili and her anger at Bolg rising within her.

"Snaga!" she heard the Orc call out again.

Aira turned to face his direction and her fear overcame her as she noticed him now aiming an arrow at her.

"Aira!" she heard Bilbo cry out in alarm near her.

Before she could react, Aira heard the arrow being released and then, the next thing she knew, she was falling over the edge of her barrel and into the cold, wet arms of the forest river.

.

Ohhhhh snap! xD

Another one of my famous, "practically make my readers hate me" cliffhangers! xD

Feel free to leave a review or PM me with your thoughts on this chapter! I always enjoy hearing from all of you :) I appreciate all the support this story has gotten so fast!