It was harder than I expected to fall asleep. Mum found us some bunks to use that resembled the ones you would find in army barracks. They weren't the most comfortable of surfaces. After spending nearly three weeks in the comfort of my own feather-down bed, it was hard to readjust. However, it was off the ground, which was a huge improvement from the rest of my journey.

Comfort wasn't the only thing that kept me awake, though. Now that we were here, beneath the shadow of the mountain, it suddenly felt more real. All the quiet conversations and occasional laughter I could hear beyond the tent walls were all people that were in danger. Any one of them could have their lives snuffed out in an instant if the plan went awry.

Eventually, sleep won out over my troubled mind, and I got at least a few hours in. And I mean a few because, when the sun had barely crested over the skyline, I was rather rudely awoken.

I was peacefully tucked into my borrowed blanket, as warm as I could be in an environment as frigid as this when there was a loud crash, and my covers were ripped from my body, exposing me to the cold. I went from deep sleep to awake in a dizzying instant and jumped up, looking around in a tired, panicked daze.

My bleary eyes finally settled on the tall form of Adar standing over my bed with a woefully unimpressed look on his face. "Wake up, Liriel."

"I'm awake, I'm awake," I said, rubbing my eyes.

When I dropped my hands, I noticed the amount of light that permeated the room. Or the lack of it, I should say. "What time is it?"

"Why, the sun rose not 5 minutes ago, dear daughter," Adar was certainly in a surly mood. "And seeing as you so desperately wanted to be here that you blatantly ignored my instructions, you can make yourself useful. There will be no lazing about so up you get."

My mouth downturned into a frown. I wouldn't have lazed about. Though, I probably would have started at a more reasonable time. Maybe three hours from now. Adar must have known that already. Waking me up at the crack of dawn was part of the punishment.

I squashed my grumbling down as far as I could and stood up on unsure legs.

"I'm up," I said with a tired smile and a thumbs-up.

"Better. Meet me outside, and I will inform you where you are needed."

He left with no further comment. The door to the small side chamber I was in fluttered closed.

That was one way to wake up. Though it wasn't the soothing bird song and windchimes I had hoped for, you can never be too picky. I rubbed my face with my hands, slapping my cheeks lightly in a bid to wake myself up.

When I finally made it outside, I found that Adar wasn't alone. Kili and Legolas were awake and miserable in Adar's shadow. We all ended up with different jobs of varying difficulty.

Much to his chagrin, Legolas was told to go and attend to the horses. He muttered something about nearly getting kicked the last time he received 'horse care' as a punishment. The way he said it made me think that this was a frequently occurring thing. After all these years, I feel that Adar had sussed out which punishments Legolas loathed the most.

Though that wasn't the case for Kili and me. Kili was assigned some manual labour. He was to help move some of the heavier boxes the humans were bringing with them in their evacuation.

Not all the humans had evacuated yesterday. In fact, hardly any of them had. The Master of Laketown had strictly forbidden anyone from evacuating until the treasury was evacuated first. Adar had tried to persuade him otherwise, but the egotistical dick was having none of it. The treasure couldn't be moved yesterday as the day had been lost, and they had to wait until morning before they could start. The humans that were in the camp at the moment were the ones that had blatantly ignored the Master's ruling. Thinking about themselves and their families above that greedy prick. Good for them.

Kili was to help bring in the gold from the Master's vault. The quicker it was retrieved, the quicker we could start evacuating everyone else. Kili didn't mind that at all. He was a dwarf, after all. They were built for hauling heavy things.

Adar then turned to me and told me that I would be helping Mereneth with the food. She was the head chef of the royal kitchens. It was a large camp, and they all needed feeding.

Adar looked at me as if he expected me to moan about it as much as Legolas had. He wasn't particularly pleased when I seemed happy about my 'punishment'. If I remember correctly, I think there was a time when I had been given kitchen work as a punishment. Little me had despised it for some reason. That was probably what Adar had been drawing inspiration from. Jokes on him. I love cooking now.

As soon as he had given us our new tasks, Adar had to leave. There were some very time-sensitive tasks that he needed to oversee.

"I assume your wake-up call was a little nicer than mine," said Kili

"I mean, Adar hit what sounded like a gong and then ripped the blanket off me. I wouldn't say it was particularly nice," I chuckled.

"My bed was flipped over," Legolas said. Then a strangely smug look descended on his face. "But I still landed on my feet. I'm too agile to sneak up on."

That sounded like the most unbelievable lie. While Legolas was probably more in tune with his surroundings than I, Adar had a good few thousand years more experience. He could move unheard and unseen if he so wished. Legolas likely never even guessed that Adar was there. He probably squeaked and landed in a heap.

"Sure you did, Legolas," I said

His eyes narrowed at the sarcasm in my voice.

"Well, I woke up with his face inches away from my own. I honestly thought that I was about to die. It wouldn't have surprised me if he had had a knife to my throat," Kili paled.

"I assume he didn't have a knife."

"No, no, he just sort of…hovered menacingly," said Kili. "When he told me to get up, I nearly headbutted him with how fast I moved."

I tried to suppress a smile at the images Kili's story was creating. I wanted to be supportive, but good lord, I wanted to laugh.

Legolas bid us goodbye first as he wanted to 'get it over with'. He wound his way through the camp towards where the horses were being kept. I turned back to Kili to give him a brief goodbye when I caught him looking towards the distance.

The sun had risen a little more, and the first rays of light stretched out across the clearing. An amber hue mixed into the shadows, creating just enough light to finally view the mountain in all its glory.. When you looked at it, it was clear to see why the ancient Greeks believed that Gods would live amongst the tops of mountains.

"I thought Fili would have been with me when I finally got to see it," Kili's voice was small, a hint of sadness peeking through.

We had missed the company's departure. By the time we arrived last night, they had already left for the mountain. The dwarves were going to find the door beforehand and camp out there until the moonlight fell upon it.

The last light of Durin's day. It was today. Which meant that Kili and I had lost our chance to join them. We would not make it to them in time to enter the mountain.

"You'll see him soon, Kili. I promise."

If everything went to plan, once the dragon was dead, the two of them would be reunited. In time for us all to prepare for another battle.

After a little bit of wandering, I found my way over to the makeshift kitchens. Mereneth was a strong and stern elf. Her dark brown hair was secured tightly away from her face. She wasn't the kind of person that would take excuses. Either you did your best, or you did nothing.

She was very respectful towards me. Even bowing her head when she greeted me. However, that did not mean that she was lenient. The king told her to treat me like a normal worker, and so she did. Mereneth directed me over to a small station, handed me a large knife and told me to get to work.

A surprisingly large amount of vegetables were placed before me. It was my job to wash, peel and chop them all. I'm quite surprised that Mereneth hadn't walked me through it. The last time she saw me, I was a small and rambunctious child completely averse to cooking. For all she knew, I might not have changed. Her other tasks must have taken precedence, and she had just enough trust in me that I wouldn't ruin the vegetables.

With the overly large knife in hand, I endeavoured to prove myself.

I made sure to rinse all the vegetables first. It's always good to be hygienic. Especially in a camp full of humans. Elves may have heightened immune systems, but they did not. With them all this close in proximity, an illness would spread through them like wildfire. So I scrubbed them with water that had been boiled at one point to purify it.

Nearly all the vegetables were recognisable and ones that I'd cooked with before. I was able to chop them quickly and efficiently, aiming to avoid wasting too much of them. No point in throwing away pieces that were still viable.

At one point, Mereneth made her way back over to me. Her eyebrows shot up when she saw my progress. "Well done, Princess," said Mereneth, astonished. "I am quite impressed. I will admit I hadn't been expecting much. Last time you graced my kitchen, you were nearly in tears at the very mention of chopping."

That sounded like an over-exaggeration. "Well, I've grown now. It turns out that I'm not too bad at it. I quite enjoy it, actually."

A hint of a smile reached her eyes. "We best not tell that to the King. This is supposed to be part of your punishment, after all."

The only criticism that she had for me was that I was chopping them rather small. "They are going to be cooking for quite a while. If they're too small, then they will boil down to nothing."

I took her advice on board and went about chopping up the rest.

The sun was quite high in the sky once I had finished with Mereneth. A type of flatbread had been baked using the fires, and several cauldrons of soup were on the boil. I had tried to sneak a taste, but Mereneth had clocked me and slapped my hand away. She then told me that there wasn't much more to be done and that I should see if anyone else required my help.

There was quite an influx of people making their way from the lake towards the camp. The majority of the evacuation was finally underway, meaning that the Master's beloved treasure must have finally been moved. I wound my way through the masses, trying to find Kili.

There was one particular man that stood out to me. He stood rather tall with tousled brown hair. He was the most proactive, leading and directing people to where they needed to go. His direction helped to speed up the process. I had been seeing glimpses of him as I chopped.

When I found myself walking past him this time, I found him helping an elderly woman with her belongings, shouldering what seemed to be some rather heavy bags. I had a sneaking suspicion that I knew the identity of this man. But before I had the chance to ask, he trundled away with the woman in tow.

The crowds of people pouring in were getting quite hectic. There were a lot more people in Laketown than I had originally thought. Thankfully, there did seem to be enough shelter to go around. Though a few would have to share to fit everyone in. But with a community, as closely packed as Laketown, I imagined they could find people that did not mind bunking with one another.

I found Kili on the edge of the camp near the lake. A Human handed him a hefty crate, and he carried it to a designated area. Where there were others positioned to carry them elsewhere. A light sheen of sweat coated his forehead, but other than that, he didn't seem to be affected by it.

There was a sea of people between us. All flowing in one direction. It made it a little difficult to reach him, but I forged on and ignored the grumbles of irritated humans. Before I knew it, I was on the other side.

"Hello, stranger," I said

Kili perked up when he heard my voice. He abandoned his crate in the designated area and made his way over to me.

"Leah," he said, "It's good to see you."

"How is manual labour?"

"It is incredibly fun," sarcasm leaked into his voice. Then he shook his head. "It's not that bad, actually. The crates aren't as heavy as they were this morning."

Kili placed his palms on his lower back and leaned back, stretching out the muscles.

He must have been talking about the Master's personal belongings, i.e. all the gold in Laketown. I dread to think how heavy some of those boxes were.

"How was cooking?"

"It was alright," I said with a smile. "Cooking can be quite relaxing."

Kili shook his head. "I can't believe you got cooking as your punishment. You love cooking."

"I know, right," I laughed. "But don't tell Adar. He is still under the impression that I hate it because I apparently hated it as a kid."

"Well, your secret is safe with me."

Even though we stood still, the hustle around us never ceased. They just soldiered on. I looked out at the families making their way into camp. There was an air of fear and uncertainty among them all. Having to uproot your whole family would do that to anyone. However, there was an undercurrent of hope flowing through the tide of people. Hope that this whole ordeal could change their lives for the better.

Most of the residents were quite thin, with sunken eyes and an exhausted aura around them. A lot of them did not have enough to eat most of the time. The Master of Laketown saw to that. To them, this could be the change they needed in their lives. With the threat of the dragon gone, they could rebuild.

A woman in front of me struggled to carry all of her belongings. She had a young daughter–who couldn't be more than 5 years old–holding onto her skirts in a vice-like grip. An older girl, around 12, carried a toddler in her arms. The little girl walked too close to her mother's feet, and the woman stumbled. It made her lose what tentative grip she had on her bag, and her belongings tumbled out onto the floor.

The woman squeezed her eyes shut and sighed. She looked like she was struggling not to shout. I made my way over to them in a bid to help.

"Dilly, you need to get out from under my feet," the woman sighed. "Hilda, can you help, please?"

"Would you like some help?" I said once I reached them.

Hilda, the older girl, turned to look at me. She gave me an appraising look for a second before deeming me 'safe'. Then she proceeded to hand the toddler in her arms over to me. I was shocked for a second before quickly adjusting the child to sit higher on my hip. They looked at me with jubilant curiosity.

"I didn't mean for you to palm your brother off on someone Hilda," said the woman, clearly exasperated. She threw things back into her bag with quick, unrefined movements.

Hilda's cheeks heated up.

The woman turned towards me. "I'm so sorry, Mi lady."

"No, no, it's perfectly fine," I said, bouncing the child in my arms. I pulled a silly face, and the little boy laughed. "What's his name?"

The woman placed the last thing into her bag and stood up. "This little one is Sven," she smiled at her son. "He's 2 and a half and nothing but trouble."

I felt a tiny hand reach up to my ear. I winced as he tugged hard. With a gentle hand, I pulled his away. He stared up at my ear with wonder.

"Is pointy, is pointy," his tiny voice was so cute it made my heart melt.

"You're right, it is," I smiled down at him. "What about your ears?"

Sven already knew where his own ears were. He covered them with both hands. Giving me a toothy grin while he did it.

"I'm Liriel," I introduced myself. "But you can call me Leah if you like."

"Well, I'm Maggie," she said. "Thank you, Liriel. And I'm sorry again for getting in your way."

My eyes drifted across the people making their way in. There were a few kids mixed in. They all seemed a bit antsy and got in the way of the adults. You couldn't really blame them, as an evacuation was quite a big thing to handle, and they coped with it in different ways. But they still got caught under a lot of people's feet.

What they really needed was their own space away from everyone else so that the adults could get things done. An idea formed in my head.

"I was just thinking that maybe we should gather up the children so that they aren't getting in the way," I explained. "We could find them their own space so that they can play."

Maggie debated it for a few moments. "That sounds like a good idea. I can get this done quicker without having to be constantly aware of three kids."

"There's a bit of open space near the tents over there," I indicated with my head. It was close to the trees and in good view. The children would be able to be seen at all times.

"Perfect, thank you," said Maggie.

Maggie bid goodbye to her children. Not before making them promise to be good. The youngest girl seemed a little unsure and held onto her sister's hand.

"What are your names then?" I asked.

"I'm Hilda," she said with a nervous wave. "And this here is–"

"DILLY," She yelled before her sister could.

"That's a very pretty name. Like a Daffodil," I said. "Maybe I could call you Daffodilly."

Dilly seemed very excited about her new nickname. She warmed up to me instantly, her earlier uncertainty quickly melting away.

I managed to convince Kili to come and babysit with me. He was a little hesitant at first because he was technically still 'on duty,' but he came around pretty quickly. We were still helping out, after all. Adar couldn't say that we were lazing about.

Next came the task of gathering up the children. Hilda was a great help because she knew most of the people by name. They were more likely to trust her. We split up at one point and set out to gather as many kids as we could. Dilly and Sven stayed with me while Hilda and Kili went off on their own.

It rather surprised me how quickly people were to entrust me with their children. I don't know if it was because I was an elf or because I was carrying a very cute baby. Whatever the reason, they were not suspicious of me at all.

"I feel like the pied piper," I muttered to myself as I led a group of children to the designated 'kid zone'.

We ended up with quite a sizable group of children to look after. Thankfully though, a lot of the younger ones had been accompanied by older siblings. They were helpful with keeping the peace and making sure no one wandered off.

Kili walked over with the last group of children. He held the hands of two toddlers as they trundled along, helping them over the bumpy terrain. It was one of the cutest sights I had ever seen. My heart couldn't handle it.

"I've got the last of the pebbles," he said.

"The fact that you call children pebbles is adorable," I said, trying to contain my outpouring of love.

Kili answered me with a breathtaking smile.

Once everyone was here, they all seemed to turn towards me with expectant eyes. I placed Sven on the ground. He was a little reluctant to leave my arms. His mouth downturned into an unhappy pout.

"How about we play a game?" I said.

Now what kind of game could you play with this many children? It needed to be something that they could all get involved with. Obviously, some of the classic games like hide and seek were out. We didn't need children running off and getting into lord knows what.

An idea quickly formed in my mind. "Does anyone know where we can get a musical instrument? Like a fiddle or something."

There was a moment when everyone looked at each other. Then one of the older girls at the back raised her hand. "My grandpa has a fiddle. He brought it with him."

"Great," I said. "Do you think he would let you borrow it?"

The girl nodded and went off in search of her grandpa.

"Right, have any of you ever played a game called musical statues?" I asked the crowd.

It was a long shot. After all, it was a children's game from Earth. From the blank looks and shaking heads, I guessed that it didn't travel over.

"Well, in musical statues, you have to dance while music is playing. But when the music stops, you have to stop moving," I demonstrated, standing stock still. "You have to be as still as a statue. If you move, then you are out. You play until there's only one person left, and then they're the winner. If you lose, then you become a watcher, so you can check if anyone else is moving. How does that sound?"

I saw excited faces from the younger ones and more curious faces from the older ones.

The girl came running back with her grandpa's fiddle held triumphantly aloft. I handed it straight over to Kili. I told him to play something happy, and he obliged.

"Wait, I don't know how to dance," asked one of the girls. She looked to be around 10. Her older sister stood behind her.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Tilda"

"Well, Tilda, you don't really need to know how to dance. You can move about however you like. Wave your arms about if you want to." I encouraged.

"Why don't you show them a few moves, Leah," Kili piped up from behind me.

When I turned, I could see a mischievous smile on his face. I felt heat rise to my cheeks.

"I'm sure they'll all feel more confident if you showed them some examples," he said.

I wanted to knock the smug look off his face. I can't believe that he was trying to get me to dance in front of everyone. He knew that I was awful at it.

"Yes, that would be lovely," said Tilda's sister. "Elves are supposed to be great dancers, aren't they?"

Well, you can call me the ultimate Elven outlier.

I couldn't see a way out of this without disappointing everyone.

"Fine," I conceded. "I will show you some dance moves if it will make you feel better. But just know that I am a terrible dancer."

I decided to start off with a classic. One that wasn't too out there so that it was easy for people to do.

"This one is called Saturday night fever. So you put one hand on your hip" I waited until everyone was copying. "Then take your other hand and point to the ground, then point to the sky."

I saw them follow my instructions with sheer determination in their eyes. Most of the older siblings weren't joining in, but they had amused faces.

"Then you repeat it," I pointed with conviction. "You can move your hips at the same time too."

I showed them a few other moves too. Any that I could remember. Some of the children were really getting into it, laughing at their own silliness. A few of the older ones helped some of, the younger ones out. Though there were a couple of toddlers that weren't having any of it, preferring to rip up grass instead. To each their own.

"Right, that's probably enough moves for now. How about we actually start?"

Musical statues was a hit. At one point, we switched it up and played musical bumps. It was a little easier for the younger ones as well. There weren't any prizes that I could give out to the winners. Though they seemed happy enough just to win the games.

After everyone was sufficiently worn out, I tried to keep their attention with stories. Most of them were very excited to hear new fairy tales. I imagine they didn't get to hear a new story very often. Sven remained diligently by my legs throughout the whole thing. I pulled him into my lap as I told them all the fairy tales I could remember from Earth. They were mostly Disney stories. Tangled was a particular favourite. Mainly because it was my favourite Disney movie, and I put more effort into remembering the details. When I finished the story, I realised that it hit quite close to home. A princess with healing magic is taken away from her parents and then finds her way back to them. You could just call me Rapunzel.

We must have been there for at least a couple of hours. Several parents began to make their way over to collect their children. They thanked me before they left, and I waved enthusiastically to the children that went.

"You're quite good with children," I heard someone say. When I turned, I saw that it was Tilda's older sister. She appeared to be my age. Well, my human age, that is. 21 rather than 40. "I'm Sigrid, by the way."

"Oh, thank you, Sigrid. I have learned that you shouldn't talk down to them and that you should always do something embarrassing. It works like a treat."

Sigrid laughed. "Yes, I imagine that works quite well. Your dancing was particularly spectacular."

I covered my heart with my hand. "Why, thank you."

There were only a few children left. Most of the others had either been picked up, or their older siblings had taken them back. Sven, Dilly and Hilda were among the ones that remained.

"We should probably get these ones back to their parents. They might have gotten a bit caught up," said Sigrid

"Probably a good idea."

Sigrid looked towards her sister, who was having a riveting conversation with Hilda. I heard mention of ice powers and magic fish. "I can probably take most of these back. I know their families."

"You don't have to do it on your own. We can help," said Kili.

"Oh, thank you," she said

Kili made his way over to one of the toddlers and held out his hand. "Shall we go find your Ma?"

The little girl ignored Kili's hand and reached up towards him, signifying that she wanted to be carried.

"I don't think you're going to win that one," I said.

Kili shook his head and scooped the toddler into his arms. She laughed at the sudden movement. I felt a tugging on my leg. When I looked down, I found Sven with an expectant look in his eyes. "Oh, alright. I'll carry you too."

We gathered up the rest of the children and made our way towards the human side of camp. Sigrid led the way with Kili in the middle and me bringing up the rear with Sven, Hilda and Dilly in tow.

"Can you tell us more about the princess?" said Dilly

"Which one?" I had told at least three Disney princess stories

"All of them," Dilly exclaimed. "I want to be a princess."

"You can't just become a princess, Dilly. You have to be born one," said Hilda, though not in a mean way.

Sven muttered to himself as we walked. Something about trees and the colour green.

A familiar voice cut across the camp, and I found myself slowing down. Kili and Sigrid hadn't noticed and continued on without me. Hilda gave me an odd look, but I paid it no mind, thoughts drifting elsewhere.

Adar's voice rose again. Short and sharp. He did not sound pleased at all. I swung around until I could see which direction his voice was coming from. I found him to my left, surrounded by guards, both human and Elven. Everyone seemed to be standing straighter and on edge. Hands even strayed to their weapons, twitching on the hilts of blades. Adar's eyes were burning and severe.

One part of me didn't want to interfere because I'd already angered him that day. However, another part of me was rather nosy and wanted to know what was going on. I inched my way forwards to get a better look. Making sure to keep Hilda and Dilly behind me.

"Woah, is that the elf King," I heard Hilda say. Her voice sounded amazed. "I've never met royalty before."

Well, technically, she had. But I hadn't actually told anyone I was the princess. It never came up.

Large crates piled up high behind the group, with more being added every second. A rotund and frankly gross-looking man argued with Adar, jabbing his fat fingers inches from his face. His hair was thinning and pasted to his forehead. There were pock marks all over his face, and his teeth were nightmare fuel. His human guards stood close like some show of strength.

Hilda gasped and hid behind my legs, "That's the master," she whispered, wide-eyed.

"You can't just leave these here," The Master protested. "This treasure is from my private collection. I will not have it anywhere near these...these filthy scroungers."

"Those 'filthy scroungers', as you so elegantly put it, are your people, Master Calamar," Ada's eyes were raging and molten. "I suggest you spend less time worrying about your gold and more time trying to lead them."

"I will not be spoken to like this," The Master sputtered. "I want all of this treasure moved. Now."

Adar stood up straighter, towering over the Master. "I assure you, Master Calamar, your treasure is safe in my people's hands. There is no time to move it now, so here it will remain."

The Master cowered beneath Adar's gaze.

Someone shuffled by with a box in their hands. It was overladen with treasure. Some balanced precariously on the top. As they passed where I was standing, I saw some contents topple off, landing on the ground below. A golden cup and some kind of necklace. I rearranged Sven on my hip and reached down to pick the items up, wanting to return them to the crate.

Just as my hand closed around the cup, another hand encircled my wrist. The stranger's grip was fierce and bruising. My fingers spasmed, and it caused me to drop the cup. I cried out as they yanked me upwards. "That's the Master's gold, you grubby little thief."

The man was not that much taller than I was. His hair was dark and greasy, with eyebrows that met in the middle. His face was too close to mine, and I could smell his awful breath. I heard Sven cry out in my arms.

I was about to push the man away from me when someone beat me to it. Three Elven guards came to the rescue. They grabbed the man and yanked him away, forcing him to the ground with his face in the mud. A booted foot slammed into his back, and a blade was placed at his throat.

I made gentle shushing sounds to try and calm a nervous Sven. Then reached behind me to make sure that Hilda and Dilly were okay.

"If you touch the Princess again, you will find yourself with no hands. Do you understand me?" said Gwaenir, one of the guards who had helped.

"P–princess?" The man looked comically alarmed. His eyes zeroed in on my ears, and an understanding dawned on his face.

"I suggest you apologise to my daughter unless you wish to lose your tongue," Adar spat through his teeth.

The master stood behind him, looking very uneasy at the whole affair. He gave me a very strange look as if he didn't know what to think of me.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," The man bleated as the blade was brought closer to his neck.

The guards hefted him upright once he apologised. He looked very affronted by all the manhandling. He ripped his arms free from the guard's grasp and dusted himself off. A pointed glare was thrown in my direction.

The Master made his way over to him. "Come now, Alfred, it seems our company is no longer wanted," he patted Alfred on the back and turned him to walk in the opposite direction.

So this is the infamous Alfred. He was even more sleazy than I thought he'd be. The fact that he'd touched me made me want to gag. He was a weasel in human form, deliberately making people suffer for the sake of the Master. I wish I had managed to get a swing in before the guards showed up.

I swear my ears caught the sound of a conspiratorial whisper between the two of them. "This isn't over, Alfred. Mark my words." But then they disappeared around a corner.

Adar glared at their backs as they left. Then his gaze turned towards me, and it softened. "You have a penchant for attracting trouble, it seems," Adar didn't sound angry, which felt like a good start.

"Apparently so," I said offhandedly. I gave my arm a shake to try and get the blood to flow back into it.

"Who is this then?" Adar reached a hand out and poked Sven in the cheek. Sven let out a little giggle.

"This is Sven," then I pointed behind me. "This is Hilda, and this is–"

"DAFFODILLY," Shouted Dilly, then in a smaller voice. "It's Daffodilly now."

"I see," said Adar, an amused smile creeping onto his face.

"I've been babysitting," I supplied.

"I heard. I also heard about your impromptu dancing lessons. Though they told me it was more wild gesticulating than dancing." There was definite humour in his eyes now.

I felt my cheeks heat up. Who blabbed?

Adar looked towards Sven once more, a reminiscent look in his eye. "I remember when you were this small. You actually listened to me then."

"I don't believe that for a second," I said with a grin.

Adar smiled back. "Maybe so."

However, Adar's smile guttered out when he saw something over my shoulder. He strode quickly towards whatever had upset him.

"What are you doing? You stupid man. Do you want to blow us all up?" Adar shouted.

A man was carrying a small barrel. Its lid was cracked open at the top, and a dark viscous substance leaked down the side, dripping onto the ground below. The man walked dangerously close to one of the many torches dotted around the camp.

"Do you know how flammable this oil is?" Adar said, "One spark, and you'll send the whole place up!"

I decided to leave Adar to it. It seemed like he had everything under control. I urged Hilda and Dilly to start moving again. Sigrid and Kili were gone from sight now, so I had to try and find my own way there.

"Are you really a Princess?" Dilly asked.

I nodded, and she looked up at me with wonder.

Eventually, we found our way to their mother. She had set up their tent and got everything sorted by the time we got there. They were happy to be reunited with their mother, and Dilly started to tell her all the stories she had learned today. Maggie struggled to keep up but smiled all the same at her rambling daughter. I gave Sven one last cuddle before relinquishing him.

I then set out to try and find at least one person I knew, wandering around the tents, keeping my eyes peeled. I smiled and waved at a few of the children who recognised me. It was a little weird to be around humans again. I hadn't seen one since we'd left Bree. To spend what I thought was my whole life around humans and then to suddenly hardly see them was just plain odd.

Mum was the first person I found. She was talking with the tall, dark-haired man I had seen earlier. They spoke about handing out supplies to all the families. Everyone needed blankets, food and water. It was things that, realistically, she should have been talking to the Master of Laketown about, but everyone knew he was useless. Mum had found a better leader in his stead.

"Oh, Leah," Mum saw me and waved me over. "Let me introduce you. This is Bard."

My instincts had been correct. The man I had seen helping everyone was, in fact, Bard. I held my hand out for him to shake. He took it graciously. "Hello, Bard."

"This is my daughter, Liriel," said Mum.

"So you are the one my daughters have been speaking about. It is nice to meet you, your highness," said Bard

Daughters? Oh wait, Bard's daughters were Tilda and Sigrid, weren't they. I'm surprised I hadn't clocked that earlier.

Someone approached us from behind. An elf curtsied before Mum "My Queen, Mereneth has requested your assistance."

"Yes, of course, I'll be there in a moment," said Mum as she turned back to us. "I will have to find you later. I'm sorry."

She bid both of us a quick goodbye and followed in the direction of the kitchens.

Bard turned towards me with his eyebrows drawn together. A curious look in his eye. "I admit that I was quite surprised when they told me that Lord Thranduil and his wife were leading an evacuation. I was led to believe that his wife perished a long time ago."

"She did."

"And I was under the impression that elves do not remarry."

"They do not."

"But that was definitely his wife that I was just speaking to," Bard pointed in the direction that Mum just left. "How can that be?"

"It's a long story," I sighed. "Mum and I were killed. By orcs. Over 1500 years ago."

Bard's eyes widened, and he didn't look like he believed me.

"Through some weird twist of events, our souls didn't go where they were supposed to go. They were sent somewhere else. We managed to find our way back here."

A sense of sadness crept into Bard's eyes. "I assume this is a feat only accomplished by elves?" He shook his head and sighed. "If only men could do the same."

I realised then that he was probably thinking about his wife. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

Bard looked around at his people. Watched as they flitted by, setting up tents and helping their families. The air was tense but also excited.

"I don't like this," he said. "They should not tempt fate by going anywhere near that dragon. It will bring only fire and ruin."

"They're evacuating everyone so that they don't get hurt," I added.

Bard looked back at me. "Even so, dragons are clever. There is not enough time to move everyone away from Smaug's sight. He will no doubt still find them."

"It's better than the alternative. At least right now, they have a chance," I said. "I've seen what would have happened if the people of Laketown weren't evacuated."

"You're a seer?" Bard gasped.

"Of a sort," I admitted. "Before, your people didn't have a chance. If the dwarves weren't here, then it would have been an army of orcs setting upon the mountain. Then Smaug would have ripped through Laketown, raining fire and destruction. It's only you that would have been able to stop him."

Bard raked his hands through his hair. "The Queen has already informed me. She said that it has to be me to fell the beast," he closed his eyes. "But I don't know if I can do it."

I could see the struggle he was facing. The uncertainty in his eyes. Being told that you are your people's only hope must be terrifying. If he refused, then he could be dooming his people. But if he did do it, there was a chance he could end up making his children orphans. They weren't good options to be confronted with.

"I think you're the only one who can," I whispered. "The black arrow was passed down through your family, and it was your ancestor that injured Smaug originally. In all the futures I've seen, it was you that kills Smaug. Fate has already played its hand and placed you in the middle of all of this."

Bard no longer looked surprised by the knowledge I had about him. He seemed to accept it more readily. "I was afraid you would say something like that."

"We have until the sun goes down to prepare," I informed him. We definitely couldn't have him back out now. Not when all these people were depending on him.

"I will do it, your highness," He said, standing straighter "If I am the only thing standing in defence of these people, then I cannot back down. Even if my life may be forfeited in doing so."

He looked every bit like a leader as he stood there. Tall and proud, willing to lay his life on the line for the people he cared about.

"You're a good man Bard," I said, "And a good leader. You care about your people. It should be you leading them and not that greedy bastard."

Bard laughed at my comment, "You must have been listening to all the gossip."

"I didn't need to. I can see it for myself."

I meant every word.