The next morning, the dwarves had awoken to find a hearty breakfast awaiting them. Halien had taken over the last watch- Gloin having fallen asleep shortly before his had ended. Just as the sky began to light up, she had portioned out some of the food from their packs and started to cook.

"Well, would you look at that?" Bofur exclaimed, surprised to wake to sausages, potatoes, and some eggs with a few of the fruits that Halien had picked the night before and some bread and cheese.

"I took the last watch, so I made you breakfast," Halien said, as she started to serve them the food. "I hope you don't mind?"

"Mind, of course, we don't mind!" Fili said, nudging his brother awake. "Look, Kili, the elf made us breakfast!"

Kili sat up and looked at the meal Halien presented him with. He took the plate and thanked her. It seemed that the events of the night before did not bother her.

Halien took two plates with her, giving one to Gandalf and offering one to Thorin, placing the plate next to him on a rock. Sensing the tension still between them, she left things at that and went over to Torwen- giving her one of the fruits.

Thorin was surprised by the fact that an elf knew how to prepare food other than the greens her vegetarian kin eat and he found that he was impressed by the flavor. Halien smiled at that, hearing that thought pop into his head.

Gandalf smiled as he watched the dwarves wolf down their food, grabbing seconds and thirds for each other until the food was all gone.

"Why don't we clean up?" Bilbo said to Halien, "It's the least we can do to thank you for making breakfast."

The dwarves agreed and started to clean things up. Halien smiled in thanks to Bilbo, who nodded his head in acknowledgment. Leaving the dwarves to the cleaning, Halien went about getting the horses and ponies ready to continue their journey. She saddled Torwen and Gandalf's steed, then moved on to the ponies. She placed their bridles on and secured the packs to the saddles. She made sure the ponies and Gandalf's steed were fed and all of them watered.

"Elf," came a voice behind her.

Halien turned to find Thorin standing there. "Yes?"

"I want to thank you for cooking for us, it was kind of you to do after what happened last night," he started, "but I must ask: what do you think you are doing here? Why would you bother coming along after what has happened?"

Behind him, the others fell silent- watching to see what would happen.

Sensing his hostility, Halien gathered herself up and looked him straight in the eye. "I am here because Gandalf asked for my aid in this quest. My skills in healing and combat will be of great use to you and the company."

Thorin was slightly taken aback by her forwardness, expecting her to be meeker than she presented her response, and he remained silent, so Halien continued.

"I would greatly appreciate it if you could stop doubting me so. I am not my father, nor will I ever become him," Halien said, advancing slightly and forcing Thorin to step back. "I have tried to make up for what my father did to your people. You cannot imagine what I have had to go through just to get here, to find you and prove to you, Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrain, son of Thror, that elves are not the monsters you make us out to be and that there are those who will still honor their alliances and never abandon those they hold close to them as kin."

She looked at him, tears in her eyes brewing and threatening to fall freely down her cheeks. "Thorin, when I came to your village, I did everything I could to earn and keep the trust of your people. When I thought that I had maybe- finally- found a place I could stay in indefinitely..."

Thorin was silent, as were the others. They saw the tears silently slipping from her eyes as she remembered. Bilbo went over to Halien and put a hand on her arm, but she shook her head and turned away.

"I'm so sorry…" she said.

Gandalf sighed and watched as she took her leave.

"Mithrandir, I will wait on up ahead," she said and walked away, Torwen's reins in hand.

Gandalf looked at Thorin with a stern look and Thorin turned away, facing the others once more.

"Now what'd you go and do that for?" Bofur asked. "Halien's a good lass. She worked so hard while she stayed in our village and even now she tries so hard to prove herself to you! And you go and upset her like that? She made us breakfast, even after how she was treated! The least you could do is thank her without questioning her motives."

"What would you know of it, Bofur?" Thorin retorted.

"Halien was always there when we needed her. She had been there nearly six years, then after you two had your encounter she up and left in the middle of the night without a single word. Not even a letter! Whatever happened between you two was enough to make her leave. I have never seen her so upset; she always had a smile on her face, even when you could see how sad she was. She tried her best to be good to everyone. Honestly, Thorin, you should be ashamed of yourself."

Thorin didn't know what to say. He had not expected Halien's response, nor did he expect one of his own to defend her in such a manner. He watched her disappear around the bend and felt an uneasy and wretched feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"I wonder if she's OK," Ori said, mostly to himself.


Up ahead, waiting for the others to catch up to her, Halien rubbed Torwen's neck. "I know, Torwen..." Halien said, listening to her mare's thoughts and wiping the tears from her eyes. She had hoped that she could quell the sadness before the others joined her and she was grateful for a few more moments alone.

Not long after, Kili was the first to join her. He walked his pony up to where Halien and Torwen stood in silence, unsure if he should say anything. Halien looked ahead of them, resting her head against Torwen's neck.

"Don't mind Thorin, elf. He does mean well, he just takes some getting used to."

"You speak as if you know from experience," Halien said, looking at him.

"Well, he is my uncle after all," he replied. Halien rolled her eyes, making him jump to defend his uncle. "He is a good man. Just give him time."

Halien saw a gentle nature in Kili. "I know he is, but it will not be easy to work around the damage my father caused."

They were silent for a moment, then Kili said, "I wanted to apologize for last night. My brother and I acted upon instinct, we shouldn't have-"

"It's not your fault, dwarf. You trusted your instinct, which is something you should always do." Halien said.

"Your healing power is quite extraordinary," Kili mentioned. "It will definitely be of use on our quest."

"That is part of why Gandalf asked me to join you," Halien replied. "As I told you last night, there is no need for bandages. I have spent a very long time training and developing this skill, so unless I am not with you, you and your companions will not have to worry about wounds or illness slowing us down."

Kili nodded, feeling somewhat comfortable around the elf, but not sure why. Beside him, Halien was feeling the same way.

Behind them, the others had rejoined them. "We are ready to continue forward," Gandalf said, coming to a stop next to Halien. "Shall we?" He gestured forward.

Halien nodded and mounted into her saddle, then urged Torwen forward. The others followed suit as they continued on their journey.