Ya'aburnee

Only You Have Shown Me How to Love Being Alive

It was so warm, and soft. Olivia hadn't felt this comfortable in well over a year, sighing contentedly as she curled into the warmth. The movement caused a dull pain to throb through her shoulder, and she gasped in pain, opening her eyes. 

An unfamiliar room lie before her eyes, and everything flooded back to her. The icy river, Azog. She had been stabbed. She reached up to feel her shoulder, glancing to see it had been bandaged, and she had been changed into a nightdress, long and loose around her. She sat up stiffly, looking around the room. It was clean, but bare, save for the bed and a chair that lay empty beside it. The glow of firelight lit the whole room with a warm glow, illuminating the wood and stone accents of the room. 

Lifting the covers off of her, she swung her legs to let her bare feet hit the cold, stone floor with effort. With a groan, she stood up, wobbling slightly. She stumbled to the door, pulling it open and shuffling out into the hallway. She was inside Erebor, no doubt, but the halls were now cast in a  golden light, the rubble largely cleared away from this small section.

Down the hall, she heard voices. Leaning on the wall, she moved towards them, familiar tones and cadences mixed with unfamiliar ones. "The first group from the Blue Mountains will arrive by the end of November," Balin was saying as she could finally see the entrance to the room at the end of the hall, "We should have rooms and supplies ready for them by then."

Her feet shuffled against the stone as she leaned against the doorframe, all of the rooms occupants turning to look at her. The company was there, including Bilbo and Gandalf, and Dain and a few dwarves from the Iron Hills were there as well. Bard stood near Thorin, and Tauriel was there as well, stood off to the side, with Kili.

"Olivia..." Thorin breathed out. He was the first to speak.

She smiled, voice hoarse from lack of use as she replied, "Hi."

A sudden ruckus broke out, all the company cheering and rejoicing, welcoming her back as she stiffly shuffled into the room. She smiled, but looked at them worriedly, hoping they were alright. Finding no injuries, she grinned. "I am glad you are all okay."

"You're glad we're okay?" Balin asked incredulously.

"You gave us quite the scare, lass." Dwalin told her. "We were sure you weren't going to make it."

"You haven't woken for weeks." Kili agreed.

"Weeks?" she furrowed her eyebrows in concern, turning to Thorin. "Wait, the people of Laketown!" She looked to Bard, "Do you have shelter? Food? Are you..."

Thorin cut her off. "Olivia... peace. They have been given space to live within the mountain. We have been sharing space and supplies for some weeks now."

She looked to Bard, who nodded, a fond smile and a twinkle in his eye. "My people have been well looked after, miss Lund, I assure you."

Gandalf spoke to her, a twinkle in his eye. "Not two minutes you've been awake, and you're already fretting. You have never quite learned to slow down, have you?"

She smiled sheepishly. Standing was difficult, even though she hadn't been up for long, Thorin noticing, guiding her over to a chair to help her sit. "What exactly happened?" She winced slightly at her voice, the sound grating to her ears, but no one else seemed to notice.

"You jumped in front of a blade for Thorin like an idiot," Kili told her.

"No, I remember that part..." She paused, realizing what he had said. "Hey!" She swatted at him but he jumped away, laughing.

"The blade was tainted," Tauriel offered, "Mithrandir and I had to extract the poison. From there, your body only needed to heal itself."

She nodded, still a bit groggy. "I have a question." Kili had been trying to hold it back for some time now, squirming with it, and he could keep himself from asking it no longer. "What happened with your sword? Why did it light up all of a sudden, and why could you fight with your eyes closed? Or could you always do that?"