Authoress Note: Welcome to Chapter 17 of The Second Daughter. I hope that you enjoy this next chapter. Thank you to all who have been with this story, it really does mean a lot. Without further ado Chapter 17.

Chapter 17

You Don't Belong Here Either

They had gone into the cave that Thorin had found.

"It looks safe enough." Dwalin told his friend.

"Search to the back." Thorin told his friend. He wasn't going to risk something happening to those in his company. "Caves in mountains are seldom unoccupied."

Dwalin nodded his head and continued checking the cave making sure that there was nothing there like he was asked. He knew that Thorin was thinking for the best. "There's nothing here." Dwalin shouted up to Thorin.

Gloin dropped a bundle of wood down onto the floor and rubbed his hands together. "Right then! Let's get a fire started."

"No. No fires, not in this place. Get some sleep. We start at first light." Thorin told them.

"We were to wait in the mountains until Gandalf joined us. That was the plan." Balin told his friend knowing what was told to the elleth that was with them by Gandalf himself. Balin didn't like the idea of being taken away from that path.

"Plans change." Thorin told his friend.

"Plans change because you are afraid of waiting for Gandalf." Aranduriel said, looking at Thorin. "He told us to wait in the mountains and you don't want to wait because you want to be back to your Mountain before it is too late."

Thorin glared at her. "Aranduriel a word privately. Bofur, take the first watch."

Bofur let out a soft sigh.

Aranduriel rolled her eyes. She was tired of Thorin being her boss. After all she was the one that had gotten them out of Rivendell when her father was planning on keeping them there and wouldn't allow them to continue on with their quest. She followed him and to the back of the cave. "You wanted to speak to me." She said, crossing her arms.

"You are making it harder and harder for me to be a leader." Thorin hissed out. He hated it when someone else was trying to take control of this quest. She was only added on because she knew her way through Greenwood and that was it. There was nothing else that she really could offer.

Aranduriel raised her eyebrow. Of course he would say something like that. "Gandalf was the one that told me that we were to wait in the mountains. Thorin you have no idea what lies in these mountains. And you need to keep in mind you need Bilbo."

That did it. It caused something in him to snap. "He has been lost since the day that he left his home. He shouldn't be here and neither should you."

Aranduriel looked at him with wide eyes. "I shouldn't be here?"

"You are no different than the other elves that I have had the displeasure of meeting. Always being so high and mighty."

She felt tears come to her eyes. He thought that of her still? This was becoming her worst nightmare. She clenched her fists. "Fine. You may think that Thorin Oakenshield, but I am not going to let your company walk blindly through such places." She then walked away sitting away from the dwarves. She just almost had enough of stubborn dwarves.

Fili looked over at Aranduriel and still felt bad that she had been hurt. He saw the blood was still seeping from the gash that was on her head. She hadn't let Oin check it out yet. He was concerned that if she didn't get it checked out that it would become a mess. He got up to his feet and walked towards her.

Aranduriel looked up at him. "Is there something that you wanted Master Dwarf?" She questioned. Her voice was void of all emotion. She was still upset that Thorin thought that she shouldn't be on this quest and that she should have stayed home in Rivendell.

"You should have someone check your head out." He pointed it out to her.

Aranduriel placed her hand where the blood was coming from her head. She pressed her fingers lightly against the gash. She bit back a whimper. It wasn't that bad, but she knew that if it wasn't tendered to that it was going to get infected. "And are you offering Master Dwarf?"

Fili felt his heart clench. He wanted her to call him Fili. He wanted to hear his name come from her pale pink lips. He nodded his head not saying anything to her.

Aranduriel grabbed the bag that was beside her and handed it over to him with dried bloody hands.

"What's in here?"

"Herbs for healing." She said softly laying back against the stone wall.

Fili nodded his head and went through the bag and found what he needed to heal her wound. "Why didn't you let Oin check it for you."

Aranduriel looked at him. She pursed her lips. "I didn't think that he would want to mend an elf." She said, stating the truth. She didn't think that Oin would help her.

Fili couldn't help, but scoff a little bit. "Uncle may say that you don't belong to Bilbo, but the two of you belong with this company as much as anyone else in this company." He said, as he began to clean her gash that was on her head. He touched it slightly with his finger to make sure that it wasn't going to bleed. He felt her flinch under his touch. "Sorry." He said softly.

She looked at him. Confusion was written across her face. He was saying sorry. "Sorry? For what Master Dwarf?"

"For what I said back in Rivendell…" Fili said softly.

Aranduriel looked at him with wide eyes. He was saying sorry for what he had said to her in Rivendell. Oh Aule she wasn't expecting that. "Fili…" She said softly.

Fili felt his heart jump. She had called his name for the first time since Rivendell.

"It is all water under the bridge. You had every right for being upset. I apologize for not telling you…"

"Fili." His uncle said. "Get some rest."

Fili let out a soft sigh and wrapped some cloth around her head to make sure that it was not going to bleed over her face again. "Try to get some rest Ara." He told her softly.

"I will not find any rest here." She told him softly, as he moved away from her.

SDSDSD

True to her word Aranduriel couldn't sleep. Being in this cave bothered her a lot. She had a feeling that there was something wrong. She could feel it in her bones and the darkness in her mind was beginning to grow. She heard movement from her right and she looked over and saw Bilbo was packing his things up.

Bofur jumped up when he realized that Bilbo was getting ready to leave them. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Back to Rivendell." Bilbo replied.

Aranduriel was surprised that Bilbo was leaving. No he couldn't leave. This meant that things were going to become harder if he went back to Rivendell.

"No, no, you can't turn back now, you're part of the Company. You're one of us." Bofur said, pleading with the hobbit some. He didn't want to see Bilbo leave.

"I'm not though, am I? Same for Aranduriel." Biblo shook his head. "Thorin said I should never have come, and he was right. I'm not a Took, I'm a Baggins. I don't know what I was thinking. I should never have run out my door."

Aranduriel looked down. She knew that Thorin at the moment had meant every single thing that he had said.

"You're homesick. I understand." Bofur said softly.

"No, you don't. You don't understand. None of you do. You're dwarves. You used to… to this life, to living on the road, never settling in one place, not belonging anywhere."

Bofur looked offended.

"I am sorry, I didn't…."

"No, you're right. We don't belong anywhere. I wish you all the luck in the world. I really do." Bofur said, smiling and placing his hand on Bilbo's shoulder.

Bilbo smiled and began to walk slowly out towards the entrance of the cave.

"What's that?"

Aranduriel's eyes widened when she saw that Bilbo's dagger was glowing.

Thorin raised his head as he heard machinery noises. "Wake up. Wake up!"

The floor went loose from them and down falling they went.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sorry it is so short for this chapter. I promise the next chapter will be a lot longer because it will be Goblin Town. Fili said sorry to Aranduriel, but more problems are looming in the air. I hope that I will get the next chapter up sooner than this one. I hope that I didn't lose too many of my readers. I can't wait to write the next chapter. Until next time.