When Tauriel slammed her bedroom door open and sharply informed Katniss that she was being moved, the young woman could almost swear that something had happened and that she was finally going to be transferred to their dungeons, still in her nightgown. Her thoughts immediately went to Thorin, and she wondered whether they were going to place her near the dwarves or not. Did they find Bilbo? Did they escape? Were they going to torture her?

Unfortunately, Tauriel did not seem inclined to give her any clues on why she was being moved or where she was going to be taken. Soon the elleth had her hands bound with ropes, and was forcing her to move at an extremely fast pace.

"Where are you taking me?" Katniss finally asked her, as they entered what looked more like a stable than a dungeon.

"Quiet! We don't have time for this."

Katniss frowned at Tauriel's words, but carried on following her, nonetheless. It wasn't as if she had much saying on that matter anyway, considering Tauriel was armed while Katniss was not. When they were in front of an enormous black stallion, Tauriel cut the ropes restraining Katniss and urged her to wear a spare travel cloak.

"I'm sorry… are we going somewhere?" Katniss looked puzzled from the cloak to the horse, who took a liking to her hair.

"Just do as I say, quickly!"

Katniss frowned again, but she did what Tauriel had asked nonetheless. The green cloak was way too big for Katniss, and it dragged on the floor. Tauriel shook her head in annoyance for not having foreseen that issue when she chose that particular cloak, but helped Katniss up the horse, which was by far the largest animal that Katniss had ever mounted. Before they knew it, Tauriel was leading the reins and riding the horse with Katniss on her back, gripping the elleth's waist.

Even though some elves frowned at their direction, nobody questioned when they saw the Captain of the Guard leaving the Woodland Realm with a small, hooded figure on her back. Tauriel carried on riding faster and faster through the less used parts of the elven road, not daring to look back.

Meanwhile, Katniss was holding onto the elleth's waist, doing her best to not fall over while she tried to figure out what had just happened.

"Where are you taking me?" Katniss repeated the question after they had covered some good miles from the Woodland Realm's main doorway.

"I'm taking you to your friends," Tauriel answered without taking her eyes away from the path. "I assumed this would be something you would want."

Katniss gasped.

"Does it mean that... they succeeded in their escape?"

"You knew of it!?" Tauriel's eyes were wide open in surprise and she turned back to have a quick glance at Katniss. "How?"

"You did not arrest all of us," Katniss answered with a smug look.

"What do you mean?"

"You arrested the thirteen dwarves and me, but we had another companion that managed to stay unnoticed in your kingdom."

"Who?"

"Bilbo Baggins. A hobbit. He is our official burglar. I've never seen anyone with such light feet."

Tauriel's shock was printed on her face, but Katniss did not see as the elleth did not remove her eyes from the road.

"Why are you helping me?"

"Your companions escaped. But there were orcs waiting to ambush them. The younger dark-haired dwarf; the archer… he got shot by a Morgul arrow. He will die if he doesn't receive proper treatment soon."

Learning that Kili's life was in danger made Katniss's heart twist in a funny way. Kili could be extremely silly, and annoy the hell of her most of the time, but she liked him. She thought about the many times they went hunting together, and how the young dwarf had taught her some Iglishmek signs hidden from the others. Kili, who was always rooting for her and Thorin to get together from the very beginning. Kili, who was Thorin's younger nephew. The thought of Thorin made her panic, and she just had to ask…

"Were there... any more... casualties?"

"No, I believe all the others were fine."

Katniss allowed a sigh of relief to escape her lips. There was a moment of silence where the only sound was their breathing and noise made by the galloping horse.

"Why do you want to help Kili?"

Tauriel tensed as she carried on, focusing on the path ahead.

"Because… this is the right thing to do."

Katniss decided to no longer question the elleth's decision. They carried on riding the horse as quickly as it was possible, considering the uneven terrain of the elven path they were following. Katniss still felt tired due to her lack of sleep, prompted by the constant presence of nightmares while at the Woodland Realm. She tried to remain awake, as she held onto Tauriel's small waist, but somehow, without her even noticing what was happening, she fell asleep.

After riding for eight hours non-stop, Tauriel decided that her horse and she needed a well-deserved break. They had just reached the edge of the forest when she carefully dismounted the animal so she wouldn't wake Katniss up. Soon, the young human girl was hugging her stallion's neck and Tauriel was leading the horse to the river, so he could have a proper drink. Tauriel wanted to use that opportunity to fill her own waterskin and eat some lembas bread.

She wasn't sure if King Thranduil was going to deem her action important enough to send guards after them, and if he would want to punish her for her betrayal.

Tauriel stood on the top of a boulder when her elven ears detected some unusual disturbing sounds coming from far behind them. Her first thought was of the spiders that she knew had been growing bolder and bolder, and were now venturing themselves even around the borders of Mirkwood. Her second one was on the fleeting orcs from the group she had just helped to kill by the river, almost half a day ago. Could it be possible that there were more of them waiting for the dwarves there, as well? She slowly drifted back to where Katniss was sleeping and said, no louder than a whisper:

"Katniss, wake up. We are being watched."

Katniss opened her eyes, and it took her a few seconds to realise that she had been lying down on the horse and hugging his neck. Tauriel was standing in front of her, and she was offering her a bow and a fully stocked quiver.

"How is your hand?"

"Much better."

"Do you think you can shoot?"

"I can try."

Tauriel nodded and jumped back on her horse as Katniss had just made room for her. After a quick glance at the weapon that Tauriel had just offered her, Katniss knew it differed from any other bow she had used. She gave a quick flicker at its string and wondered how far it could reach.

"I'm not good at shooting while riding," Katniss said as she quickly wore her new weapon to stay ready for fire.

"You will have to do your best. There are spies from the enemy waiting nearby, and we cannot go back."

"Why not?"

Before Tauriel could answer, the elleth heard an arrow zooming towards them, so she moved her horse away from its range and the arrow struck a tree at the other side of the forest river. Katniss did not need to be told what to do. Despite the burning pain she still felt in her hand, she shot an arrow straight into the head of the Orcs that shot at them. To her surprise, it hit its target exactly where she had aimed, even though they were still riding.

Tauriel had also loaded her own bow and soon started firing, even though she was the one controlling the horse, who was quickly galloping forwards. However, it was soon clear that they would be forced to face a crude barricade made of recently cut tree branches and a dozen Orcs, who were hiding behind it and pointing arrows at them. Tauriel placed her bow back on her shoulder to regain the control of her horse and make it pull back before they were within shooting range of the Orcs ahead, only to be reminded that there were other orcs behind them, fast approaching, some of whom were even mounted on Wargs. It was obvious to both females that the Orcs were trying to corner them.

Tauriel was pleasantly surprised by how good Katniss' aim was. The girl had both killed and injured two thirds of the enemies who were behind them. As the elleth tried to decide where they should go, her horse was hit by two Morgul arrows on his side, making the animal stagger.

It was then that they saw Legolas emerging from the edge of the forest, arriving from behind the orcs who were attacking them. He was mounted on a white mare, shooting arrows at their enemies from behind, not giving them any chance to realise what had hit them. Tauriel then dismounted her injured horse to aid her friend. The Orc archers who were previously hiding at the barricade ahead, began to march towards them, and Katniss also dismounted Tauriel's horse and hid herself behind a rock, as she readied herself to shoot them as soon as she thought they would be within her range.

However, that was a difficult thing for her to pinpoint, considering that it was her first time using that bow, giving time for the Orcs to shoot at them first. The weird thing was that instead of aiming at her, the only person who was aiming at them, the arrows were directed at the two elves on sight. Tauriel and Legolas were currently engaged in a sword fight with the Orcs who were nearer them, and had to dodge the arrows alongside that.

Katniss frowned at that seemingly strange battle strategy, but she carried on putting down one Orc after another, despite them completely ignoring her presence in the battlefield. When there were only two Orcs approaching her, she felt something heavy harshly knock her on the head, and she saw no more.

Katniss' head was throbbing. She knew that she was suffering the worst headache of her life. She could hear songbirds twittling and the trickle of running water nearby wherever she was. As she opened her eyes, she found the worried semblance of the elf that had come to their rescue, looking down at her.

"Tauriel, nás cuita."

He said something in that flowery language of the elves that she couldn't understand. She tried to sit up, but the male elf placed a hand on her shoulder, preventing her from doing that.

"Rest, little one."

Soon, Tauriel's head joined him, and Katniss felt a bit more at ease at seeing someone a bit more familiar.

"How are you feeling?" the elleth asked, full of concern.

"Like shit. What happened?"

"There was one Orc who knocked you out during the battle and then tried to run away with you, but I killed him. Why are these Orcs trying so hard to capture you alive, Lady Katniss?" the male elf asked, making her feel unease, as she had no idea who he was, or why he knew her name. This time she sat up despite both elves frowning at her stubbornness.

"I don't know… maybe because I killed Azog? Who knows what goes through their heads…"

Both elves exchanged a shocked glance and then looked back at her with a newly formed respect in their eyes.

"You should go back to my father's kingdom, Lady Katniss. These roads are clearly not safe for you. And so should you, Tauriel."

Katniss' eyes were wide open after that new piece of information about the blond male elf that had helped them. If the Woodland realm was his father's kingdom, would that mean that he was a prince? However, it was Tauriel who answered him first.

"I already told you, Legolas. I cannot go back. If I do, I will never forgive myself. Besides, despite what you say, I don't believe that your father would forget this either."

The male elf, Legolas, gave a long sigh of frustration. After looking around, Katniss noticed they had moved a bit further away from the bloodshed of the battle, but she still could see it from the distance. Tauriel's horse had been patched up, but it had a miserable look on his face. Tauriel's hand was stroking the horse's nose, even though her attention was focused on her. Katniss stood up and tried her best to hide the immense headache she was currently experiencing.

"We better carry on moving while it is still daylight. I don't know about you, but I don't think it is a good idea to set camp anywhere near them. They might attract predators. Not to mention other angry Orcs," she said pointing at the dead orcs not too far behind them.

Tauriel and Legolas exchanged a meaningful heavy glance. Katniss somehow knew that they probably shared that sort of telepathic bond that she had built with her hunting partner Gale over the years.

"Take my horse, Tauriel. Leave Haga in my care."

"Legolas! I can't…"

"Haga is injured. He is not fit for a travel like the one you have ahead. He will only slow you down, you know that."

She sighed and nodded, as she knew he was right.

"Are you sure you are feeling good enough to carry on, Katniss? You can stay behind with Legolas. I'm sure you will be well treated by our people."

"Are you serious? Your people locked my friends in a dungeon for no reason!"

"You were trespassing our lands without our consent!" Legolas replied with a frown. "If you come back with me, I promise you shall be treated as my guest."

"They only wanted to get to the other side as quickly as possible."

"And they lead a platoon of orcs and wargs to our borders. Besides, your leader refused to accept a deal when one was offered to him."

"What? Thorin refused a deal?" Katniss' gray eyes shot wide open at finding out that new piece of information. Legolas gave an almost imperceptive smile that was only caught by Tauriel.

"I will take your offer and accept your horses' help, but only until we reach the Southwest dock. Hopefully we will get there in time to have some rest before the first morning barge. Idril is a clever girl. I'm sure she will be able to find her way back to you."

"That she might. But it worries me that these roads are no longer what they used to be. We've seen more Orcs in the past few days than we have in the last couple of decades. Not to mention the danger of the spiders. No, Tauriel, she will be safer with you. Please keep her until our paths cross again."

Legolas then whispered something to his horse before it trotted to the place where the two females were waiting. Tauriel helped Katniss to mount Legolas's white mare before she did the same herself. Soon they were both waving their goodbye to the Woodrealm Prince before Tauriel quickly led them away from him. Legolas stayed behind, with Tauriel's injured stallion, trying to mask his own concerns about letting the two females carry on their journey without anyone else to help them.

"Be safe, mellon nin," he whispered to himself as he watched the three of them disappear from his vision range.

It was already dark when Tauriel decided that they had arrived at the place where they should make camp for the night. In a few minutes, they had started a fire and were roasting the ducks that were going to be their dinner. Legolas's horse had, to Katniss' surprise, laid down just behind them, and both females were using her body as a headrest. Tauriel was unusually quiet, looking at the floor with a hard expression on her face, and Katniss, who was not the one who would usually start a conversation, decided that was one of those times that she had to make an effort.

"What's wrong, Tauriel?"

Tauriel, who was flickering the fire with a stick, stopped what she was doing to have a better look at the young human woman that she had helped to escape.

"I betrayed my king and lost my home on the same day. Now I'm as homeless as the dwarves we are trying to reach."

That hit Katniss like a slap to her face, only now realising the lengths that the elleth in front of her had gone through to aid her escape. Tauriel had run away from a kingdom which was her home in order to... what? Help heal Kili, a dwarf she barely knew? To sneak another stranger human girl out of their kingdom even though that would be classified as treason?

Katniss couldn't help but feel an enormous admiration for Tauriel's actions. She wasn't sure if she could have done the same thing the beautiful red-haired elleth had done. She also couldn't help but to think about her friend Cinna, who despite having all the comforts that the Capitol could offer, decided to help their cause, even though it ended up costing his own life. Tauriel had just done something similar, and she knew that, from that moment on, she was bound to feel an infinite gratitude for her actions.

"I'm sorry that you lost your home. I know it sounds a bit corny, but I know how it feels. I lost my home once too."

That caught Tauriel's attention, and she looked back at Katniss with an inquisitive look on her face.

"Did you? Where did you say you hail from, again?"

"Yes, I did. There is no point for me to tell you where I'm from, as you have not heard of it. My entire… kingdom got destroyed by the Capitol. We were burned to the ground. There were very few survivors…"

"Like what happened to Dale…" Tauriel's eyes were wide open as if she had seen a ghost. Katniss had a puzzled look on her face, as she had not heard anything about the city of Dale. It took a few minutes for Tauriel to feel like talking again.

"You mentioned this Capitol when you first woke… and you thought you were there. You were very distressed by that idea."

"Yes… the things they did… you cannot even imagine."

Katniss hugged her knees, hoping that Tauriel would be perceptive enough to realise that talking about the Capitol wasn't something she was comfortable doing, and would not dwell much on it.

"It sounds like that whatever they did, it left deep marks on you. At least now you have found a new home with your dwarven friends. I've been to Erebor in its glory, before the Dragon's attack. It was an impressive kingdom. They had numerous halls, sculpted with marbles and embroidered in gold, diamonds, and mirthil. Its richness is beyond anything you can imagine."

Tauriel had a glint on her eyes as she talked about the long lost dwarrow kingdom, however, hearing about the luxury and ostentation that according to Tauriel was present in Erebor, did not make Katniss feel good. It made her have gloomy memories about the Capitol's people eating a feast just to puke the food and eat it all up again.

"What's the matter, Lady Katniss?"

"You said they had a lot of luxury and ostentation in Erebor… these things… they don't bring me good memories."

"Well, if I understood it right, you are betrothed to the heir of Erebor's throne. Which makes you their future Queen, if they are to be successful. I'm sure you would be able to make your own input on how their kingdom is run to some extent."

"You make it sound like such a... serious and important thing by putting it that way."

"Well, it is."

"In that case… then I will make sure that we find a place for you, if we ever manage to reclaim Erebor."

Tauriel gave her a dry smile, as if she knew that would never happen.

"Thank you for the kind gesture, but I have a feeling that the dwarves will never allow an elf to live among their own."

"Well, you are not any elf; you are the one who let your own people down to save Kili's life. I'm sure this will count on their eyes, all right?"

"I'm not so sure. The rift between dwarves and elves is an unfortunate occurrence that runs deeper than you can understand."

"I'll ensure they make an exception for you."

Tauriel looked at her in a funny way.

"Hey, you earned it, right? You've helped me escape and are going to heal Kili at a great personal cost for yourself. I'm sure that Thorin will see that, and if he doesn't, well, you leave that to me."

"And I pray to Eru that we can get to him before it is too late..."

Katniss could sense that Tauriel was avoiding looking her in the eyes. She suddenly got the impression that the elleth was not telling her the entire story, and that thought made Katniss feel a bit uneasy, for if there was one thing she did not like, was being deceived.

"Why did you give everything up to save a dwarf you don't even know?"

"As I said… this was the right thing to do. Besides, I do know him."

"Do you?"

"Yes," Tauriel started, still avoiding looking Katniss straight in the eyes. "We've talked quite often while I was patrolling the dungeons. While I cannot say that I know him well, I can say that I know him enough to know that he is a gentle brave soul and that he has the purest of the hearts that I know."

Tauriel had a slight blush on her cheeks that went unnoticed by Katniss.

"Are we talking about the same dwarf? Because the Kili I know is a prat. I'm surprised to hear that he was pleasant company for you. Maybe he is finally growing up. Most of the time we've spent together, he did nothing but tease me about his Uncle Thorin."

"Your betrothed is his uncle?"

"Yes… and I really can't wait to see him again."

Tauriel's jaw dropped in shock, whereas Katniss gave a long sigh, mentally thanking the fact that the elven travel cloak that Tauriel had given her was a bit big for her, as despite it being still summer, the nights were still cold.

"When…" Tauriel began, uncertain if she should ask the question that was burning inside her mind. However, Katniss' questioning look was all the approval she needed to carry on "When did you realise that your heart belonged to your betrothed?"

"Oh."

That was Katniss' turn to blush and look away for a moment before she mustered enough courage to look Tauriel in the eyes again. At the same time, Tauriel seemed to be taken back by her own boldness at asking such private questions to the young woman she still barely knew.

"I'm not sure. It took me a long time to understand and accept that I had feelings for Thorin. And even longer for me to see that he was the only future I wanted to have." Tauriel gave her a heartwarming smile.

"This sounds like a love story, if I ever heard one. A daughter of men and the heir of Erebor. This is surely a tale that will survive the ages and turn into ballads, bound to outlast both of your lives."

That made Katniss feel embarrassed again.

"Honestly, we are not that special…"

"You can fool yourself thinking that way, but it won't make it any less true."

Katniss, in lieu of getting out of the spotlight, started turning the still roasting ducks..

"So you used to talk to Kili when he was your prisoner, you're saying?" she said, bringing back the attention to Tauriel.

"Inside the Woodrealm dungeons, yes..."

"And what sort of things did you and Kili talk about?"

Both females carried on talking through the night, and once they were fed, they decided that it was important for them to take turns on watch duty, as their recent meeting with the orcs was a reminder of the dangers they were trying to escape. Tauriel ended up convincing Katniss that it was best if she rested first, as she was clearly the most tired of their due. However, the elleth did not make any effort to wake up the human girl during the night. Instead, it had been Katniss herself who woke up after having another nightmare with Thorin and the pale Orc.

Even though Tauriel tried to persuade Katniss to go back to sleep, arguing that elves had different sleep needs than humans had, Katniss did not believe her, and refused to do so, as the girl felt like she would be in debt to Tauriel if she didn't do the same for the elleth.

Needless to say, this was a frustrating endeavour for both females, as Tauriel's sleeping patterns were truly different from Katniss'. In the end, they decided to break camp slightly earlier than they would have done otherwise, and went back to the road before the sun had risen.

It wasn't a surprise for Katniss when they stopped by an old dock, as Tauriel had already told her that they were going to hopefully catch the first barge to Esgaroth. As Katniss had informed the elleth, it was Thorin's plan to stop at that city before they reached their final destination to have a final rest and get some supplies.

"I hope they allow Idril to go with us. I don't think we have ever taken a horse to their city during all these years… we always did our trade by the river."

"What are we going to do if they don't?"

"I'm not sure. The only way to get to their city is by boat."

Katniss frowned as she took notice of that new piece of information about the place they called Esgaroth, or Lake Town. She already knew now that Erebor was part of what she had grown up knowing as District Two. Katniss wasn't much aware of the details about the geography of the other places in Panem besides her own District, but she roughly knew where all the districts were in the map to be aware that the Capitol boarded with District Two. Now looking at the sights, and the enormous lake that was ahead, she began to wonder if that was the very same enormous river that she had seen in numerous propaganda videos about the glorious Capitol of Panem.

"The other thing we could try to do was to meet them on their way to Erebor, but I fear that would be too late..."

"Then you must go there, even if they can't take the horse on their boat. I will stay with the horse if that is the case."

"I am afraid that these roads would be too dangerous for you at the moment. Those Orcs we fought last night were clearly after you."

"I am not that easy to catch…"

"Well, you were caught, or have you already forgotten that it was Legolas that saved you when that Orc tried taking you away?"

Hearing these words slip out from Tauriel's mouth made Katniss' cheeks turn pink. She had no argument against that.

"So what do you suggest we do, if these people don't accept the horse on their boat?"

But Tauriel had her eyes locked on the horizon and she did not answer the girl's question. Katniss, in turn, squinted her eyes at where Tauriel was looking, but she wasn't able to see anything. Roughly at the same time, the girl heard the noise of people approaching them from behind, and while Katniss turned back to see them, Tauriel remained looking at the horizon.

"We have company," Katniss whispered, but Tauriel did not look surprised.

"I know. I heard them a while ago. I believe they are a family of farmers. Probably harmless."

Katniss squinted her eyes again and this time she was able to spot the silhouette of a young girl on a man's shoulders and two other adults pulling a wagon. Katniss then looked back to the lake and she thought she could also finally see a barge approaching them from a distance.

"Let me guess, elves have a much better vision and hearing than us…"

Tauriel smiled, but she did not say a single thing.

The small family arrived at the small dock before the boat. Soon it was clear that it was a father and two older sons and a younger girl. They all looked wary and intimidated by Tauriel, though Katniss' presence seemed to make them feel a bit more at ease around them. After some small talk, it was clear that they were indeed a family of farmers who lived in a small cottage a few miles down South. And they were taking some of their own harvested vegetables to be sold at Esgaroth's market.

When they asked Tauriel and Katniss about the nature of their business on the lake city, it had been Tauriel who intervened and answered that she was helping her friend Lady Katniss to find her lost sister. Katniss gave Tauriel an inquisitive glance but she was astute enough to understand that it was for the best that she played along with Tauriel's story.

Once the two bargeman docked their small boat, it was clear that they were very familiar with the farmers' family. The older bargeman was incredibly handsome, and perhaps it was something to do with the bow he was carrying, but somehow he reminded Katniss of her own father. The younger boy was clearly a few years younger than herself, and Katniss could only guess that he was his son. The older bargeman was quick to ask the two females what was their business in Esgaroth. Katniss cleverly repeated the same story about being looking for her sister's Prim whereabouts that Tauriel had given to the farmers beforehand.

"She is not there. I can guarantee that. I would have heard about a young girl wandering around, I'm sure of it. There is nothing that happens in there that I am unaware of."

"I want to go and search for her anyway. Please…"

"By all means, you can try to get a pass. But you will need to get approval of the Master's peon, Alfrid Lickspittle, to be able to get inside, and unless you are ready to wet his hand with gold, I wouldn't even bother trying to do that."

"We have gold," Tauriel answered impatiently. "Can you take the three of us?"

"I can take both of you, but not him," the bargeman said pointing at the horse.

"Her…" Tauriel automatically corrected, unable to hide the disappointment from her semblance.

"I apologise, my Lady, but this boat is not big enough, and we have four other stops to make before we can go back to the city."

Katniss and Tauriel exchanged a worried glance, but the oldest farmer quickly came to their rescue.

"I don't mind looking after this big girl for a few days. Me and ma boys could actually use the help she can provide us. It has been a while since we had a horse like this living with us, but we know how to take good care of one…"

Katniss bite her lip. Tauriel opened and closed her mouth again, unsure of what she should do with such an offer.

"I can vouch for this family. They are good men. If they're saying they will take good care of your horse, my Ladies, that is what they will do."

The older farmer nodded, as his two sons carried on loading the boat with the food they were going to sell at Esgaroth's market. Tauriel still looked tense, as they were all strangers and she did not want any harm to happen to Legola's horse. Still, if she wanted to save Kili she knew that they didn't have much of a choice.

"All right. We will leave Idril under your care, but I will go back for her as soon as our business in the Lake has been concluded."

The older man nodded and Tauriel passed the reins of Idril to him, who handed her to one of his boys who immediately started to attach the horse to their wagon.

"I should also warn both of you. The Master's deputy is not known for being respectful towards women, especially the ones who are unaccompanied by a man. And you two are bound to draw his attention.'' He paused and looked at the bows they both carried. "Though, I must say... you definitely don't look like the kind to be messed with," he finished with a knowing look.

"Oh, I would love to see him trying…" Tauriel said with a playful glint in her eyes. Katniss and the bargeman exchanged a smile after hearing the clear tease in the elleth's voice.

"I'm Bard, by the way, and that is my Son, Bain."

Katniss looked from Bard to the younger boy Bain, who nodded his head in a small bow to the two females and offered his hand to help both females to hop inside their boat.

Soon, they left the small dock, accompanied by the bargemen and both older sons of the farmer, who stayed behind with the young girl and Legolas' horse. As they went around doing their daily rounds to pick up some of their regular passengers, Bard started making small talk with Katniss, trying to gather more information about her and Tauriel. Katniss swiftly noticed his game, and before she could give any information, she moved away from him and the others to join Tauriel who was at the edge of the barge looking at the forest which was staying behind them on the horizon.

"I'm sorry you lost your home, Tauriel."

"It could've been worse…" Tauriel answered, giving a meaningful look to the brunette who remained in silence. "How is your hand, Katniss? All that messing around with the Orcs yesterday and I forgot to apply the medicine for it."

"You brought it with you?"

"Of course! We don't want to lose all the progress we made with that now, do we? Come on, let me have a look at it."

Tauriel was talking about the ingredients on the healing paste that she was applying on Katniss' hand when she suddenly went quiet. Katniss gave her a puzzled look, to which Tauriel gave her a very low whisper that she was certain that she was the only one that was able to hear it.

"They are talking about us."

Katniss tried to hear, but apparently, you needed super powerful elven ears to hear what they were saying. Tauriel's eyes were wide open in surprise.

"Your dwarrow companions have been hosted by the Lake-town's master!" the elleth whispered again.

"What!?" Katniss asked much louder than she should have, as all the other passagens on the boat suddenly turned their heads to look at her with a questioning look on their faces. Tauriel shook her head and turned her back to the others and returned her attention to the forest that was getting further and further away by the second.

"Is there something wrong?" Bard frowned from the front of the barge.

Katniss shook her head awkwardly before she joined Tauriel at the task of watching the landscape. None of them opened their mouths again to say anything until they had finally reached their destination just past midday.

Alfrid Lickspittle had been as awful as Bard had warned them he would be. First he tried to get all funny with Katniss, and when he realised he wasn't going to have his way with the only females on board, he shamelessly asked them for some bribe to allow them inside.

However, it was at that moment that Tauriel got fed up and decided to reveal not only to the deputy of the master, but also to everybody who was inside of Bard's small boat their connection to the Erebor's dwarves.

"If I were you I would mind my tongue, this woman you had just tried to assault is the future Queen of Erebor!"

Katniss sighed and scolded Tauriel as she felt anything but comfortable with the elleth making her connection to Thorin a public affair like that.

"Are you really?" Alfrid said, looking at Katniss from her messy hair to the dirty slippers she was wearing.

"You deceived us! You are not here for your sister, are you?" Bard accused as he frowned.

"I'm sorry we lied to you, but I wasn't sure if mentioning them was a good or bad idea at the time… and we are in a hurry. One of their members needs medicine emergently!"

Bard placed both of his hands on Katniss' shoulders before he urged.

"You must stop them from entering that mountain. If they wake the dragon, this whole city will be burned into ashes!"

Katniss opened and closed her mouth, unsure how to answer his plea. The idea of being once again responsible for an entire city's destruction hit her too close from her own darkest memories. It was Tauriel who took the lead and asked the master's deputy.

"Are you going to take us to them, or not?"

"Very well. I shall escort you there myself. Percy, don't let anyone else in while I'm gone."

As they walked around Lake-town escorted by Alfrid and some of his soldiers, it became clear that Lake-town was an extremely poor and miserable place. It was easy to spot young children wearing nothing but ragged clothes, begging for a piece of bread. Katniss' heart immediately sank. She had once been that kid. She knew what true hunger was like. She knew what it was like to live not knowing when you would be able to have food on your dinner table again. She knew what it was like to go around searching for food in other people's garbage, and to beg and hear "I'm sorry" for an answer. That had been part of her life.

At first glance, it felt like the life led by the people from Lake-town was very similar to the one endured by people from District Twelve. A harsh and miserable life without any mercy. The survival of the fittest, a little bit like the Hunger Games.

Katniss looked at Alfrid and took notice of his well made clothes, polished boots and the jewelry he was wearing around his neck. However, what was the most revolting about him, was the snobbish faces he made as the miserable citizens of Esgaroth crossed their path, as if it was an utterly inconvenience for him, having to look at their dirty faces or smell their scent. She couldn't help but feel sick. When she witnessed one of the guards that were escorting them pushing a boy that was trying to approach them to beg, Katniss decided that she had enough. She was about to intervene when Tauriel's hand held her arm, clearly preventing her from doing that.

"Tauriel! This is-"

"I know…" Tauriel's face looked pained.

"But these kids…"

"Later. This will only bring us trouble. Think about Kili," Tauriel whispered, and Katniss shook her head, gave a long sigh, and clenched her fists, but forced herself to look away from the kids and carried on following the deputy's lead.

They led them to a square filled with the nicest houses in the city, and everything that Katniss could think of was how much that resembled some of the office buildings from the poorer districts she had visited. Alfrid stopped in front of one of the big, imponent houses and knocked fiercely on their door. It took a few minutes for somebody to come answer. The door seemed to be heavily secured as there were noises of a handful of locks being opened after they noticed a pair of brown eyes spying them from the peephole.

"Yes?" Ori said with a sleepy voice.

His small head appeared without fully opening the door. Katniss recognised him immediately. Her heart was beating fast as her mind went straight to Thorin. He was most certainly there as well.

"This woman is claiming…"

"Ori!" Katniss shouted from behind Alfrid and his guards. Ori gasped in exasperation as soon his eyes laid on her.

"Lady Katniss!" he squeaked.

As soon as he said that, he threw the door open and Dori, Nori, Bofur, Bifur and Bombur joined him to see if it was really her. Unable to restrain herself any longer, Katniss slipped through the guards and the Master's deputy to throw herself in an enormous group hug with her old companions.

"How did you find us?"

"How did you escape?"

"Why are you wearing a nightdress? What happened to your clothes?"

"Lass, you brought an elf!"

Bofur said the last one, as he pointed at Tauriel, who was slowly making her way to the doorway. All the dwarves immediately looked wary at the Captain of the Guard from the Woodrealm, as they clearly remembered her doing her patrol rounds around their cells.

"This is Tauriel. She helped me to escape."

"An elf, helped you to escape? This is new!"

"Balin!" Katniss said, unceremoniously walking inside the large common area of the manor and hugging the white-haired dwarf, who returned the gesture with candor.

"Are you going to introduce us to your new friend?" Balin's eyes sparkled as he laid them on Tauriel, still outside, waiting to be invited in.

"Ye can't be friends with a Mirkwood elf, Lassie," Dwalin said, crossing his arms and frowning from the other side of the room.

"Tauriel is our friend. She helped me escape at a great personal cost to herself. If she is not welcomed here, then neither am I."

To that, nobody dared say a word. Instead, a mortal silence settled in, where they all looked at the elleth as if they were evaluating her.

"I'm here to heal the dark-haired archer. Is he still alive?"

"Yes, lass, but he is not doing well, the poor laddie…"

"Take me to him."

"Thorin is nah gonna like tha!" Dwalin said, crossing his arms.

"Tauriel is the only one who can save him now. Do as she says," Katniss said with all the authority she could muster, and even though Dwalin shook his head, he escorted the elleth to the room Kili shared with his brother.

Exhausted, Katniss allowed herself to collapse in one of the armchairs near the fireplace, and gladly accepted some of the stew offered by Dori, and eagerly started eating it. Before she had time to think, the dwarves began to bombard her with questions. When she was about to answer them, loud steps coming from upstairs made everyone go silent, and Katniss could not help but to feel a wave of excitement filling her soul.

"What is going on here?!"

Katniss could swear that her heart stopped when she heard Thorin's voice coming from above. She raised her head and she finally saw him. His hair and beard were wet, his hairy chest was on display, only slightly covered by a blue towel which was hanging over his shoulders. Her heart was beating so fast that she thought it was going to explode. Their eyes met, and it was Thorin's turn to gasp and be flooded by the wave of emotions brought by that wondrous surprise.

"Thorin…"

"Katniss..."