I made a point of avoiding the dwarves for a few days, and found that having some idle time alone was a welcome change. I fully indulged myself and took joy in being able to sleep absurdly late, relax in long baths, experiment with perfume oils, and practice different hairstyles in front of a looking glass. I also began exploring the outdoor paths that wound their way around Imladris. After perusing the library, I was even able to borrow a few books that I found in Westron, and spent some time reading both on my veranda and in bed. I found a level of peace I never thought possible and knew I could never go back to the subjugate life I knew before. Yet despite my gratification, I could not quite forget how I rudely fled from Bofur when he had only ever been kind to me, and I felt I owed him some explanation.

I spent one more day in my own private, luxurious world, but vowed to myself to seek out Bofur that evening to try and validate myself and my behaviour.

I found most the group that night in their quarters; they appeared to be having a late night party. After a quick survey of the room I noticed that Thorin, Balin, Bilbo and Gandalf were absent, yet everyone else seemed to be lounging about the area.

I approached Bofur from behind and quietly sat down next to him; he was busy roasting a sausage over a fire they had built right on the floor. Bifur added a few pieces of wood to it, but I noticed they were rather nice pieces of wood, really nice in fact. I looked around in confusion and then saw some furniture, now mostly disassembled, scattered close by.

"Should you be doing that?" I shrieked in alarm, causing both Bifur and Bofur to jump and look at me. Bifur muttered in dwarvish then proceeded to stick a whole head of lettuce over the flames, staring at it with intensity as the leaves crisped black.

"I'm sure it's fine." Bofur said easily. "They didn't tell us not to do it." He added with a grin, pulling off the cooked sausage. He examined it thoughtfully for a moment.

"Bombur!" he yelled suddenly, tossing it to the large dwarf who was sitting on a bench across from him. Bombur caught it. His seat, which was in actuality an entire table, creaked ominously and then completely gave way, sending the dwarf to the floor in a very undignified manner, his plate of food flying everywhere. The others roared in laughter, but swatted Bofur on the arm.

"That wasn't very nice." I chided, trying not to smile.

"Oh it's alright," he said when he had finished laughing. "Call it a brother's feud, he'll get me back later."

"Bombur is your brother?" I questioned incredulously, I knew Bofur and Bifur were cousins, and assumed Bombur was just a cousin to them as well. "You two look nothing alike."

Bofur laughed. "He got the good looks, aye, but I've got the charm. Still, he's quite the ladies' man back home."

I wasn't sure if he was joking or not, and it must have shown on my face.

"You don't believe me?" he asked with mock seriousness.

I peered over towards Bombur, who was still on his back rolling around struggling to get up. I watched as, in his attempts, he kicked outwards and knocked Bifur's lettuce off its stick into the flames. Bifur threw his cooking stick at the fire in a rage and stood up shouting what sounded like obscenities in dwarvish. He gestured at Bombur in frustration then began to stomp away, slapping a bowl of food Ori was carrying out of his hands to the floor in the process. Ori stood there looking scared, his hand still out as if it was holding the bowl.

I snorted. "It seems as if good looks and charm run in your family."

Bofur laughed at that.

"He doesn't talk much, does he?" I mused as I watched as Dwalin and Dori finally heave Bombur to his feet.

"He's more the strong, silent type." Bofur said, smiling.

"Dwarven ladies find his... qualities attractive?" I asked, trying to be tactful.

"I wasn't joking. Usually, the bigger and hairier, the better. He had quite the selection to choose from when he decided to take on a bride."

"Huh, that is… interesting." I said, looking at the large dwarf thoughtfully.

"I'd wager the standards of human attraction are a little different then?" Bofur asked, grinning at me.

"Maybe a little." I replied, smiling as I met his eye. In truth it has been quite some time since I'd seen a man I found appealing. I'd obviously been partial to the scoundrel that first escorted me to Bree - though I couldn't even remember what he looked like now. There was the odd merchant sometimes at the market, plus a handful of travellers, that I recall being more pleasing to the eye than the drunk, dirty lowlifes I served in the evenings, but not many.

I took a quick moment to study the features of the face in front of me and I was surprised that I could find no fault in them. At first all the dwarves had appeared so strange in my eyes. Bofur, in particular, had such a characteristic look about him, unlike anyone I'd seen before. Yet now that I was used to his somewhat odd personal style, I could appreciate his gleaming eyes in the firelight, his long dark hair, his smirking mouth…smirking…

I snapped my eyes away from him, unsure how long exactly I had been staring but knowing from his expression that I'd been caught. I cleared my throat and tried to collect my wits, hoping the light was too dim for him to see the blush that I so clearly felt heating my cheeks.

"At least, I'm sure our men would certainly not be partial to us growing beards." I commented light-heartedly, aiming to distract him and rubbing my smooth chin. "Though you never know, maybe they would like it... something different, exciting perhaps."

"Ah, I find it hard to picture you with a beard. Wouldn't suit." he replied after glancing at me.

"Really? Are you sure you wouldn't find me a bit more alluring if I had a thick moustache to match my hair?" I teased.

He grimaced. "Definitely not, you're perfectly alluring already."

I looked at him then, confusion knotting my brow. It felt as if we had stepped a bit beyond the realm of niceties - it was one thing to be kind to me, gentlemanly even, but I could have sworn that this felt more like… flirting?

Bofur shot me a knowing, teasing smile and then busied himself in grabbing his pipe out of his coat.

"About the other night," he began, his voice suddenly more serious. "I, ah, didn't mean to upset you."

I shook my head. "No, listen, it's not-" I stammered, feeling embarrassed and suddenly warm. I glanced about the room at the other dwarves. "Do you want to come with me outside?" I asked suddenly. "I could use some air." Bofur raised his eyebrows but nodded and got to his feet.

He lit his pipe using a stick from the fire as we made our way out onto the balcony and once we were out of earshot of the others I turned towards him, wanting to be honest with him but wondering where to begin. A part of me wished to tell Bofur everything, but I cautioned myself to wait, it was too soon to willingly give out my trust.

Finally I looked at him and smiled nervously. "About the other night… I'm sorry I ran off without an explanation." I bit my lip, needing another moment to collect my thought. "The man, the one we encountered at the bridge, he was my employer, nothing more. He wanted me to become his wife, but I got away... I'm not engaged ." I finished somewhat awkwardly, not sure how many more details I needed, or wanted, to provide.

"You didn't want to marry him?" Bofur asked, looking at me curiously.

"No!" I exclaimed more vehemently than I intended. "He was vile." I added in a more controlled tone, but still could not keep some emotion from lacing my voice.

"This man, he wouldn't take no for an answer, and so you abandoned your whole life and took to the road just to get away from him?" Bofur questioned, clearly somewhat confused.

"No… yes - something like that." I sighed, knowing it all sounded farfetched if I wasn't willing to tell the whole story.

"So, let me get this straight," Bofur started, abandoning his pipe and beginning to pace. "You - who I take had little to no previous experience being on your own - given the state we found you in - decided to take off into the countryside just to be away from a persistent suitor?"

I began to bristle at his assumptions, but he continued before I could cut him off.

"Can you honestly tell me that spending dark nights completely alone in the wild, facing ruffians on the road, being chased down by warg riders - was all that truly less terrible than just staying in Bree?"

Bofur stared at me as if I were mad. I glared back at him.

"I don't regret leaving, it that's what you're asking." I said rather tartly. "And you don't understand. There's more to it than that."

"Then help me to understand." He replied almost pleadingly.

I opened my mouth and then bit my words off. Was I to tell him of the days when my face was so bruised I was excused from my evening shift? Of the nights I compulsively re-checked that my bedroom door was securely locked? Of the belittling comments and jibes and unwanted touching I endured night after night by men so into their cups that I would be be cleaning up their vomit into the early morning?

"You do know what he sent those 'ruffians' to do to me, don't you?" I asked levelly, but it was a rhetorical question, and so even though he opened his mouth to reply, I continued. "I couldn't stay there. My employer... he wasn't a good man. If I'd have stayed -"

My explanation was cut short as suddenly Nori strode into our midst. He looked from Bofur to myself in growing bewilderment, as if realizing he had interrupted something more significant than he might have anticipated - our somber expressions likely tipping him off.

"Ah. I'll be needing Bofur if you don't mind." He asked, though I could tell it was more directed at him than at me.

"Kind of in the middle of something, Nori." Bofur stressed, glancing towards me as though that should have been obvious.

"Er- well it's just that Bombur, he's gotten himself stuck in one of the fountains."

"Again?!" Bofur cried out, his eyebrows shooting up into his hat. "Can't you lads just get 'em out?"

Nori scratched the back of his neck. "He's really wedged in there this time - the elves may have increased the flow a bit."

"For the love of Durin… fine, take me to him." Bofur sighed, waving Nori off. He turned back to me, looking contrite. "I'm sorry." He said repentantly.

I smiled at him. "Go. It's alright." I assured.

"We'll talk again." he promised, nodding his head before leaving me to catch up with Nori. As they rushed down a flight of stairs towards the fountains, I heard Bofur trailing off "Honestly Nori, I swear, just because he can't reach his bottom doesn't mean he needs to..."

Needless to say, the rest was left up to my imagination. I shook my head, smiling to myself at the antics that these dwarves got into and happy to put off revealing the more serious subject of my past for yet another day.

The next morning I awoke early and, after bathing and putting on a freshly provided dress, I skipped off to find the dwarves. Usually I spotted at least a few of them taking breakfast near the kitchens, but today I was let down to find not even one of them. I took an apple to munch on as I went off in search of familiar faces, but was once again dismayed to find their quarters abandoned. A quick peak told me they were still somewhere in Rivendell, as all of their effects remained, though I did notice a few oddities such as the elven harp pulled over next to Thorin's bedroll, and the pile of silverware that seemed to have been so hastily tucked beneath Nori's blankets that some had spilled out. Not wanting to be caught snooping, though, I left without investigating further.

I checked the area of the late-night fire next, to see if there were any clues as to what they may be up to, but all I found was cold ashes and a neatly stacked pile of split table and chair pieces. I even went to the fountains where it seemed the dwarves had taken to bathing - much to the dismay of our hosts. Not one bare-bottomed dwarf in sight - thankfully it seemed they had freed Bombur after all.

Frustrated at my lack of success, and still somewhat peckish, I abandoned my search and made my way back towards the central hall.

After a quick brunch, I let my feet take me where they would as I lost myself to my thoughts. I took a few paths I had not yet explored and eventually picked up a familiar scent on the air. I hastened forward and soon discovered the source of the distinct, but not unpleasant, odour - the stables. I saw no elves working and so tiptoed inside, wondering if I would normally be allowed to enter. The horses within were magnificent creatures that seemed not to need fully enclosed stalls to contain them, nor were they bound with ropes in any way. I took a few steps further inside, admiring the tall, sleek beasts, yet I was tentative to approach any closer. I was comfortable with horses, as I often had to tend to customer mounts while working at the inn, and my brief ownership further enhanced my experience, but I knew these horses were different than the beasts I was accustomed to.

I had never been one to do much talking to animals, not that I had ever been given much of a chance to, but as I looked into the eyes of one of the nearest stallions, I felt like it knew where my mind was wandering, and so I put voice to my thoughts.

"If any of you happen to have seen any dwarves-" I was cut off as the nearest one snorted, and my mouth hung open for a moment at the tenacity of this creature.

"Well, that was rude." I stated bluntly and placed a hand on my hip. I turned to walk away, only to see an elf leaning against one side of the stable's entrance, arms crossed and a mirthful smile gracing his lips - one that reminded me ever so slightly of Bofur's. I struggled, and failed, to come up with any words or action to redeem myself, but nothing came to mind so I simply smiled nervously and remained quiet.

"They cannot understand you, hiril vuin." He stated matter-of-factly, which caused me to blush and nod. I knew how silly I must have looked.

"I know." I admitted abashedly.

"Lau, you do not. I meant that they only understand Sindarin." He explained as he walked up beside me.

"Oh." I said breathlessly in surprise as I comprehended his meaning. He glanced down at me, and again I found myself somewhat entranced by the beauty of elvish features. I quickly found my voice, though I struggled to act casual.

"I am sorry, I should not have wandered in without permission." I said, gesturing towards the entrance.

"It is no trouble." The elf replied. "There is nothing to fear. These horses would not needlessly harm someone unless they had ill-intentions, which I suspect you do not given how quiet they remain. However, they do particularly favour attention from their riders, and can be wary of outsiders... I could introduce you to one, if you are interested?"

I smiled, eager for the chance to get closer to one of the animals. The stable-hand guided me down the aisle and into the main thoroughfare between the wings of the stable, and I was surprised to see that not all elf-horses were white - something I had come to believe based on stories and fairy-tales passed about at the inn. Some were golden, others chestnut, and some even black as night.

"That is one of our fastest and strongest. He belongs to Lady Arwen, Lord Elrond's daughter, and will listen only to she." The elf mentioned when I stopped to look at a particularly noteworthy steed, and when he reached out to pet the horse it tossed its head, shaking his mane while letting out a mirthful whinny.

"I never knew Lord Elrond had a daughter." I mused after smiling at the horse's vibrant display of character, then realized there was no reason I should have known that, and fell silent once more.

"Yes. A daughter and two sons. Come." The elf beckoned me out of the thoroughfare and into a small paddock which, as I now realized, was just a short pathway away from the bridge where we had initially crossed into Rivendell. The paddock was closed, though, and empty save for a single horse which stood munching on some greens. As soon as we entered the ring, the horse walked over to us. My guide murmured something in elvish, petting the horse down along his nose and neck. When he stopped talking, the horse seemed to look towards me expectantly. Unsure of what to do, I lifted a hand up, but the elf's own hand signalled me to wait.

"It is a bit, ah, impolite, to touch without introducing yourself first. Is it not the same in your culture?"

I blushed again, and in my flustered state I introduced myself and fumbled a curtsey - the best I could given that my training had been from bar wenches who tried to optimize the view down their shirts. The horse bowed in return, and I straightened up and looked to the elf in bewilderment.

The ceremonial nature of the greeting was lost on the elf, however, as he was obviously once again trying to keep himself from laughing. My confusion added to the apparent hilarity of the scene, and finally the elf explained.

"I am sorry, my lady. That was not necessary - our horses make judgement on those they meet long before something as simple as a name is given to them. Nice curtsy though. I truly meant no harm, but Rocheryn has been wanting to show off that trick for days now and none of my stable-mates could be convinced to return him the courtesy."

I smiled a small smile as I suddenly remembered a saying the dwarves would often mutter: Wherever there are elves, there are lies. I was beginning to think there was some truth to the aphorism. At any rate, I was beginning to long for the company of anyone but him. At least the dwarves' teasing never made me feel 'less than' in any way. Seeming to sense my animosity, the elf continued, this time more sincerely.

"Truly, I am sorry... but tell me honestly - if you were several centuries old and often left with only the horses for company, you would be a bit crazy too, would you not? I know not how Lord Elrond does it, as old as he is and rarely cracking so much as a smile - let alone joking. It would be enough to drive me mad as a skylark. Alas, you may not forgive me, but at least do not hold it against poor Rocheryn. Come, meet him." he beckoned me forward, and then backed away to the edge of the paddock, perhaps to show that his trickery was at an end.

I relaxed a little, and stepped forward to allow the stallion to first smell my hand before stroking its muzzle. It truly was a beautiful animal, much taller than the horse I had ridden from Bree. I moved around to its curved neck, admiring the shine of its dapple gray coat. I cooed to it under my breath as I rubbed my hand down to its shoulder. After a few minutes of interaction with the great horse, I turned back to the stable-hand and expressed my appreciation. Thankfully he made no further attempts to tease me as he escorted me back out though the stables, but he did talk the entire way, and I wondered if he simply enjoyed the sound of his own voice. I took my leave of him with a rather new impression of elves; clearly not all of them were quite as stoic as I had imagined.

As I wound a bend in a path leading back to the more common areas of Rivendell, I looked ahead to see I was not far behind Bofur, Nori, Ori and Bifur. Not wishing to appear undignified by sprinting up behind them, I instead called out Bofur's name. He turned and waved upon seeing me, then seemed to tell his comrades to carry on as they then continued up the path while he turned and began walking back towards me. I smiled as I caught up with him and we carried on together at a slower pace as I told him of my time in the stables.

"I was looking for you earlier." I remarked after I was finished describing the somewhat unmannerly oddness of the elven stable-hand (to which Bofur seemed overtly pleased to hear of). "Where were you?" I asked curiously.

"Me? Well I was at a secret dwarf meeting." he replied with his usual gusto.

"I see." I stated simply, casting him a suspicious glance. "That would explain why I didn't see any of you then."

"Are you hungry?" he asked suddenly, turning to look at me while we walked. I ventured that I could eat, and he assured me that he was starving.

"Thorin woke us all before dawn and had us marching up out of the valley in such a hurry that none of us had a chance to grab anything more than a few leftovers we had lying around from last night. Took us all the way back to the hidden cave and had us planning and scheming." He explained as we sat down to a table, plates filled from the trays outside the kitchens that always seemed to have something to eat on them, regardless of the time of day. It seemed that Bofur, at least, had gotten over the dwarves' initial disdain at fresh greens, or perhaps he was famished enough to not give his helping of salad the stink-eye. As we ate, I asked him, being as subtle as I could so as not to pry, what had Thorin in such a secretive mood.

"Well, here's the thing. Seems things will be moving more quickly from now on - you could say we're on a wee bit of a tight schedule, as it turns out. We've all been given orders to start keeping our eyes out for any opportunity to snatch up supplies the elves won't notice missing."

He didn't elaborate any further than that, and so I made a point of changing the conversation to lighter things while we finished our meal. Once we were finished, however, I decided that now was my opportunity to hopefully gain more insight on my peculiar band of travelling companions. After an elf whisked away our empty dishes, I remained seated and looked at Bofur somewhat expectantly.

"Ah, now what's that look for, lass?" he questioned with a lazy smirk.

I shifted in my seat and placed my elbows up on the table, lacing my fingers together then resting my chin atop them.

"Well I reckon, after last night, when I answered a few of your questions, that perhaps you would oblige and answer some of mine." I remarked with a slight smile, raising my eyebrows in anticipation.

Bofur frowned slightly. "I don't think you answered many questions at all last night, mostly just left me with more."

I grinned and shrugged, but still looked at him imploringly.

"Ah, fine then, give it a go. But remember just how cooperative I'm being the next time I might want some proper explanations."

I reluctantly nodded and then sucked my inner cheek a moment, trying to decide on the best approach.

"Lord Elrond welcomed Thorin as a descendant of King Thror under the mountain." I began slowly. "You're the dwarves of Erebor aren't you?"

I had mulled over that possibility during the quiet peace of the days in Rivendell, and I was now beginning to piece together their riddle. I grew up in the shadow of the ruined city of Dale; I knew the lore of the mountain: the tales of Girion and the dragon, and the prophecy of Durin's folk.

Bofur looked at me seriously. "My kin and I are not," he began quietly, "but aye. The rest of them are heirs of Durin."

"And you're going back to Erebor?" I asked in a whisper, leaning over the table towards him.

"Aye. That's the idea anyway." he replied, too casually for my liking.

"Why? Why is the company going to Erebor?" I pressed.

"To reclaim it." Bofur said simply.

I slammed my hands down on the table, a bit harder than I intended. "That's not possible." I hissed. "The dragon-"

"Relax! We have a plan." he said easily, shifting in his seat and stretching out his legs. "And a burglar."

"I don't know what you mean." I said distractedly. "But entering that mountain is a death sentence."

He didn't respond. I shook my head in frustration, got up and walked out onto the nearest veranda. I heard Bofur walk about behind me. I sighed and sat down on a bench to be able to look up at him.

"Where did you get this?" he enquired, stepping forward and gently touching my necklace.

I frowned, not wanting to change the subject, but petulantly told him it was a treasure from the troll-hoard.

"It suits you... my lady." he said with a smile despite my grumbling tone. Rather than receding, he instead lightly traced his finger along my collarbone as he admired the necklace. I had learnt long ago to stifle the urge to flinch away when men touched me without my permission (the tips were better when I wasn't so jumpy), but I was surprised that I didn't feel any impulse to recoil from his touch. The fleeting contact inexplicably warmed my skin. I looked at Bofur in confusion.

He quickly withdrew his hand, frowning as he glanced down in what seemed like embarrassment.

"When are you leaving?" I asked, trying to ignore the sudden discomfort in the air between us.

"Soon I'd wager." he replied, his voice still quite upbeat even though he was avoiding eye contact by tending to his pipe.

"Let me come with you."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea." he looked at me then, his expression kind. "We've already led you into peril. It's not safe in our company."

"But I'm travelling the same direction anyway." I insisted. "I won't slow you down this time, I promise."

He shook his head. "That was never the problem. You should think about staying here for a while. It's nice." he said in a much too cheery and controlled a voice. "I'm sure the elves would give you refuge, for a time."

"I don't want to seek refuge with the elves." I said petulantly. "I'm going to Laketown, even if it means I have to continue alone."

Bofur gave up. "Alright, alright. I'll see to it that you join us when we depart. It would be more dangerous at this point for you to follow our route without us."

I smiled. "Thank you." I hesitated a few moments, looking up at the dwarf who had shown me more respect in a few days than I had received in many years.

After a moment I realized I had simply been gazing at him again. I knew I wasn't quite cultured in the formalities of propriety, but I was raised respectfully enough to remember that staring was rude. Perhaps I had spent too long in the company of vagabonds and strumpets. I suddenly stood up, trying to hide my embarrassment.

"Well, I'm going to retire for the evening. They gave me my own room you know..." I gestured towards the general area where it was located.

"What privileges. You sure you don't want to just settle down here, start a new life among the fair folk, what with your own private quarters and all?" he badgered with grin.

"I assume the elves just thought it would be wildly inappropriate for a vulnerable young lady such as myself to camp down next to thirteen burly and untrustworthy dwarves."

Bofur laughed. "Aye, we are quite the unsavoury lot, prone to all manner of mischievous deeds." he replied roguishly with a wink.

I opened my mouth, but could not think of a clever enough retort so I simply smiled, shook my head and rather regretfully bid him goodnight.

After another long sleep, I awoke to bright beams of sun lighting up my luxurious, airy room and determined it was very well past noon. Soon I would need to re-adjust to rising with the dawn again, but was happy I did not have to quite yet. I stretched lazily, and then took my time in washing up and dressing. I re-wore one of the dresses I had a few days back, not wanting to create much more laundry than I already had, then happily strolled out into the day and made my way back to the company's quarters. There was no one to be found. The area was tidy, and empty. I rushed to the dining area. Empty as well.

I paced around frantically, searching for any sign of them, my jaw clenched in anxiety and growing anger, but then I finally came across Gandalf. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding and immediately relaxed.

The wizard turned to me when I approached. He seemed surprised to see me. Then his expression dropped.

"Ah, dear girl," he said gently, as I came to a wary stop in front of him. "I thought you had gone with them."

I stared at him, a knot settling in my stomach. "They've left?"

"I'm afraid so, before sun-up."

I had to turn away, lest the wizard see the tears prick my eyes.

They left without me.