Thank you to everyone who followed or favorited the fic recently because somehow my stats are borken and it has been showing the same number of reads for weeks now and I feared no one was even reading/liking this anymore haha. And of course also thanks if you just read the story.

As always, enjoy!

The next morning, after dawn, they had reached the shore and everyone was gathering their belongings or searching their loved ones. They had to say goodbye to Tauriel and Bard's children. First Lhindril thanked Tauriel for everything she did for them, fighting the Orcs, helping Kíli and then assisting them in the flight and then turned to Bard's daughters who were looking for their father and brother. A part of her wanted to stay with them until they had someone to take care of them and really hoped that the two men had made it. Tilda clung to her and wanted to come with them.

"But who's looking after your sister then?" Lhindril asked and she let go at the woman, wiping her tears away.

"Alright" she whispered and Lhindril suddenly felt a hand on her back

"We have to go" Fíli said softly. So she gave Tilda a last hug and bid both girls goodbye before walking to the boat with Fíli and pushing it into the water. Kíli was still talking to Tauriel and even invited her to come with them. But then the blond Elf from yesterday appeared behind her. From the discussion in Elvish Lhindril only got that the blond one seemed to be called Legolas. And apparently they wanted to leave together because she turned away from Kíli but he grabbed her arm, whispering something in Khuzdul that made Fíli raise his eyebrows.

"What's this about?" Lhindril asked "About Kíli and what he said?"

"A declaration of love"

"And what's so bad about that?"

"My brother's losing his heart to an Elf"

"So what? Do you hate other folks, Elves especially, just as much as your uncle?"

"It's not that. It is not seemly for Dwarves, especially royalty, to consort with other races" now she was the one to frown

"That's rich coming from you" she muttered, nudging his side. In that moment Kíli joined us and we got into the boat that gave Fíli a good opportunity to escape an answer. Once they reached the other shore, she wanted to ask Fíli something else, something private that had come to her mind earlier.

"What's stopping you from talking Khuzdul to me?"

"Would you understand?"

"Well… no"

"See? If I tell you something or how much you mean to me, I want you to understand. I mean I could offend you and you wouldn't even know it. And then translating it to Westron would ruin it. Does it bother you?"

"No, I just wondered. When I was in Rivendell, Elrond tried to teach me Sindarin and even my mother spoke Elvish with me. But what little I knew then I have forgotten by now"

"What about your brother?"

"You mean if he speaks Elvish? He'd started learning when I left. And my mother told me that he fell in love with an Elf. You see, I too have to accept that my brother is in love with an Elf" she joked

"Then you know how I'm feeling" he had obviously not gotten she was joking.

"But I am happy for him and all that matters is that he's happy with her" Fíli looked away and didn't speak again. It seemed like Lhindril had given him something to think about.

-oOo-

"Look, the ruins of Dale" Bofur called out and indeed Lhindril recognized remains of a city in front of them. Fíli squeezed her hand and then her glance fell to Erebor that was now closer than ever. Carefully they walked down the slopes to the city. The closer they got, the worse the destruction looked and they all more or less hurried through the city and then reached a little field that lay in front of the mountain. At first they stopped for a moment then the Dwarves started running and Lhindril did the same. Only now she started asking herself what would await them in the mountain. Had the rest of the company survived? Or did Smaug kill them all before coming to Lake-town? To her surprise, the front gate was open even though Balin had said it was sealed shut. But there was a hole in it, probably caused by Smaug when he left the mountain. Then they already passed the gate and everyone looked around the entrance hall in awe, calling for the others but getting no reply. So they started looking for them, anxious about what they'd find. And she was worried about getting lost or falling down somewhere as well because some paths were pretty narrow. Suddenly they heard Bilbo and he came running towards them. Lhindril couldn't say how relieved she was to see him alive.

"You need to leave. We all need to leave" he said

"We only just got here?" Bofur seemed just as confused as the rest of us.

"I've tried talking to him but he won't listen" what was he talking about?

"What do you mean, laddie?"

"Thorin. Thorin. Thorin. He's been down there for days. He doesn't sleep. He barely eats. He's not been himself. Not at all. It's this place. I think a sickness lies on it" Fíli stared in the direction the Hobbit was pointing and didn't seem to listen to anyone, not even Kíli who wanted to know more about the sickness. Suddenly the blond started running and after calling for him, they all followed him to, none of them knowing what to do. And then she saw the hall filled several feet with golden coins, trinkets and other items. She swallowed because She had known Erebor's treasure to be enormous but never had she imagined something like this. A part of her wondered where all the gold came from, if it had really been all found here within Erebor. Everyone else was eyeing the gold too and she suddenly noticed someone stumping around on the gold. Thorin.

"Gold beyond measure. Beyond sorrow... and grief" only now he looked up and saw them. But there was no joy or relief on his face to see them, his nephews alive. No smile was on his face, instead an almost annoyed or even angry expression "Behold the great treasure hoard of Thrór" he sounded almost bragging and threw something in their direction. There really seemed something wrong with him. Fíli managed to catch what his uncle had thrown "Welcome, my sister-sons, to the Kingdom of Erebor" his voice was dark and had a mysterious tone to it and there was a glimmer in his eyes that could not mean anything good.

"Let's get away from here" Lhindril muttered and was glad that Bofur listened and wanted to search the others. Bilbo showed them the way and before they knew it there was a happy reunion because no one had known what had happened to the other part of the company and thought them dead. At least they were glad to see the others. "What did Thorin even throw?" Lhindril asked Fíli a little while later

"A gem"

"And what did you do with it?" he looked at her

"Dropped it" he replied with a shrug and she breathed out in relief.

-oOo-

Early in the following morning Thorin, who had not spent the night with the rest of them, disturbed their sleep and ordered to search for the Arkenstone. Not happy about not having breakfast first they still listened and followed him to the gold hall. When Lhindril wanted to enter, Thorin got in her way what baffled her altogether.

"What are you doing here?"

"What? You said that we should…"

"Not you" he interrupted her grimly.

"Alright" she didn't know she could be even more confused. Maybe he wanted her to do something else instead?

"Get lost!" her jaw dropped slightly open and she stood there like frozen, unable to do anything "I told you to get lost! Now" he protested and stepped closer, making her retreat. He seemed like he wanted to hit or grab her but luckily someone grabbed his wrist.

"What are you doing?" Kíli asked, stepping next to his uncle and soon also his brother joined them, glancing to and fro between Lhindril and his uncle, obviously not really sure what was going on. Well, he wasn't the only one. Thorin freed his hand and seemed lost for a moment too but then decided again to 'protect' his gold. By now many other Dwarves were watching or even came back to the entrance.

"Get away from here" now Fíli stepped in, asking his uncle what he was doing.

"You've gone crazy" he concluded as he came towards Lhindril and tried pulling her into the room with him but she stopped him. Instead he now led her away from the others. "Don't you worry about him. He won't do or say anything more. Just stay with me"

"No, it's not that I'm afraid. I mean… I'm not even that keen on spending my day here looking for a jewel when I could explore Erebor" a smile crept on his face

"Oh, I see. You wanna duck out of work, huh? Well, you're right. Have fun and see you later" he gave her arm a squeeze and wanted to meet her in the hall they had used for dinner yesterday. Lhindril really loved exploring the mountain because as you looked closer you saw there was more to it than just the dark and monotonous stone. Here and there she could find little decorations and details. Scared of getting lost, she didn't venture too far into the mountain and instead headed towards the gate, hoping to have better air there. Glad that she was right she sped up when the bad smell of dragon was slowly fading but stopped when she saw a shadow. Carefully, Lhindril stepped around the corner and saw Bilbo sitting on a stone and looking at something in his hands.

"Skipping work too?" she asked and the Hobbit almost jumped in shock, dropping what he held and then was very quick to pick it back up. But she was quicker and had a good look. It was a huge, milky white stone but it's inside glistened in many colours, like a starry sky. "What is this?" she breathed as she ran her finger over the smooth surface

"I…" he cleared his throat and then leaned closer "the Arkenstone" he whispered.

"What? The one Thorin is looking for? When did you find it? And why do you have it with you?"

"Yes, this Arkenstone. I took it when I was sent to the mountain first to find it and then grabbed it in the last moment"

"What? They sent you ahead in the mountain? Why?"

"Yes, they did. It's because I'm the burglar. If you had been there, they'd have sent you too"

"They what?" Lhindril almost exclaimed and the Hobbit raised his hands, almost in panic, as if he feared someone could hear them. "Are we their scouts or something to see of the dragon's asleep? That not a Dwarf gets killed in case not?"

"No! Lhindril, it was our job to find the stone. Nothing else. The dragon knows the smell of Dwarves but not a Hobbit's. And we could have sneaked in easily" she snorted

"And then what? Kill the dragon ourselves? Or why did they need just the stone that bad? That we have to risk our lives for it?" close to tears she leaned against the wall and just wanted to cry. Bilbo didn't seem to know what to say and so he remained quiet, thankfully. But when he started talking again Lhindril yelled at him to shut up and just ran away, not even noticing she was still holding the Arkenstone. She didn't know why she pocketed it instead of dropping it somewhere when she noticed. For a while she stepped through the mountain, trying to get her thoughts into order and not able to believe that the Dwarves had just deemed them the most expendables and therefore sending them ahead when they had least combat experience and knew little of dragons. Then Lhindril realized that she was lost and got even more desperate and her hunger didn't make it any better. She also considered what she wanted to do now. The quest was done, Smaug was dead and the Dwarves had the mountain back and Thorin did not even want her here. Maybe it was best if she left. There wasn't anything keeping her here. Of course she had not been thinking about Fíli in that moment. Her only problem was to find the exit and then decide what she wanted to do and where to go. But that wasn't that easy because the Dwarves had done a great job in building a labyrinth and she was hoping to at least find a place that was familiar. The fact that everything was so silent and empty didn't make it better, adding to her bad mood. However, luck was on her side and she saw a light that didn't seem like a fire but more like sunset and headed towards the source of it, also noticing the air was getting better. She had almost reached the entrance hall when she crossed paths with Bilbo and for some reason she retreated

"Wait. Everything is alright. Everyone is worried sick about you and they're looking for you" for some reason Lhindril just ran away again but it wasn't before long that she met Dori and he too expressed relief at having found her. Seemed like she needed to get past Bilbo anyways if she wanted to get out. He seemed like the one she could get past easily, even though he had already shouted that he had found her and where she went. "Wait let me explain" he called again when he saw her but the woman just ran past him without taking any notice of him but she only ended up bumping into Kíli who grabbed her sleeve. Angrily, she wanted to push his hand away but he only grabbed the other wrist too

"Where in Durin's name have you been?" he didn't sound pleased "Do you know how much you scared my brother? And the rest of us?" gently he started leading her back to the entrance hall where a couple other Dwarves had gathered and all started talking to her but Kíli stopped them, asking if they knew where his brother was instead. The question became superfluous because the blond Dwarf ran towards them, a little out of breath. It seemed like he had also changed clothes in the meantime. Well, most of the Dwarves had as Lhindril just noticed. Relief spread on his face when he saw her and pulled her into a crushing hug that felt almost too comfortable and she felt tears running down her cheeks. He noticed, let go of her and gently wiped them away but new ones followed. Before saying anything to her he asked the others to give them a moment and only opened his mouth again when they were alone.

"What happened? What's wrong?"

"You… used us" she sniffed

"Used you? Lhindril, if this has anything to do with what Bilbo told us. That we used you as scouts or thought you could be replaced or had to kill the dragon… it's not true. None of it, I swear. We only needed you because we had to get the Arkenstone. At first I mean. Because now all I need is that you remain by my side. Please" he took her hands "We never would have used you or risked your lives just like that. I would have never let that happen. Ever since the troll encounter I didn't want you to go to that mountain. Not without me. Because you mean so much to me and I care about you. That's why I sent everyone to look for you now. Because I got worried"

"You sent them?" she asked almost in disbelief.

"Of course. And I wasn't the only one who got worried by your disappearance. We all did. Both you and Bilbo are a part of the company. Our friends. And I know that Thorin's behaviour might made you doubt that. But please believe me that all we needed you for was to get the Arkenstone without waking the dragon. We hoped it wouldn't even wake up and if it did it would not kill us instantly because he knows it's Dwarves."

"So all you wanted is the Arkenstone? Why?"

"To unite all Dwarves with it. That we could take back Erebor together. We never planned to wake the dragon now" again he wiped her tears off "And don't bother too much about what Thorin is saying. I am sure he is very fond of you but he cannot show it right now. All that currently matters to him is the gold. But give him a few days and everything will be fine. You know he is not like this. He cares about his kin and friends and their wellbeing" Lhindril just gave a tiny nod and a part of her felt embarrassed for her reaction. She had never wanted to exaggerate like this and think that they wanted to harm Bilbo and her. Maybe it just had been everything, the excitement of the past days, the hunger and Thorin's behaviour. Looking down she broke away from Fíli, mumbling an excuse for having doubted them and causing all that trouble "Of course not. It's not your fault. Any of us could have reacted like that if we hadn't know each other almost all our lives. Thorin really did change and I am sorry for what happened in the morning" during dinner she also apologised to the others. Only Thorin was missing again but she was actually glad that she didn't need to see him right now. Luckily, none of the other Dwarves were angry with her and all assured her that they cared about her and never wanted to get anyone in danger.

The following day the Dwarves – she just assumed she wasn't wanted - needed to look for the Arkenstone again and Lhindril remembered that she had it with her and didn't even say something yesterday after all the trouble. So she just wanted to meet them to give Thorin the Arkenstone, hoping maybe that would appease him, when suddenly Bilbo stopped her and led her away.

"You mustn't tell anyone that we found the stone" she glanced at him in disbelief and he continued "You know, first I wanted to keep it as my share of the treasure but now I think we should give it to Thorin in a good moment"

"What if he gets angry?"

"I will tell him I only just found it. He doesn't need to know I had it with me all this time"

"Alright. Do you want to take it?"

"I don't mind. Might be better if you don't give it to Thorin or he'll think you stole it or something because he doesn't really seem to be fond of you right now" Lhindril added that she also hadn't been in the gold halls anyways so she couldn't have found it anyways.

"So I guess it is better if you took it, so you can hand it to him in a good moment" he nodded and she gave him the stone which he promptly put away but when he moved his hand out of the pocket she heard Thorin's angry voice behind them.

"What is that? In your hand?"

"It's nothing" Bilbo pressed out in shock and put his hands behind his back while Lhindril stood there like frozen.

"Show me" he stepped around the corner and she started to feel sick. Did he see the stone? Bilbo moved his hand at the front, put it back in the pocket, while she tried to silently tell him not to do it. He pulled something out and it was an acorn. Suppressing a relieved sigh she only cleared her throat.

"I just told Lhindril that I picked it up in Beorn's garden"

"You've carried it all this way?" Thorin asked, a small smile on his face. Silently, she thanked Bilbo for having saved the situation. And it was good to see Thorin not angry for once. The Hobbit explained that he wanted to bring it home and plant it in his own garden

"It's a poor price to take back to the Shire"

"One day, it'll grow. And every time I look at it, I'll remember. Remember everything that happened, the good, the bad... and how lucky I am that I made it home" all of a sudden Thorin seemed changed again, it had been ages since Lhindril last saw him in such a good mood, if ever. Perhaps now was the moment to hand over the Arkenstone? She glanced at Bilbo when Thorin turned to her.

"Lhindril. I didn't want to shout at you yesterday. Come and look for the Arkenstone if you want"

"That's nice. Thank you. I'll gladly come to help. I know how important this is to you and to the others" she assured him quickly, not wanting to make him angry again. She just wanted to pull Bilbo to the treasure again, so they could later claim to have found the stone just now, when they suddenly heard Dwalin.

"Survivors from Lake-town... they're streaming into Dale. There's hundreds of them." within a moment Thorin's smile was gone and he seemed bitter again.

"Call everyone to the gate" he ordered and watched how everyone left and grabbed her sleeve as she wanted to do so too. When she looked at him in shock he slammed her against the wall, grabbing her throat roughly "Stay away from my nephew!"