When morning comes

Life its self

Opal woke with a boot to the back.
"Wake up, we need to move." A low voice told her. She only saw who it was when the culprit began walking to speak with his nephews. Thorin continued to wake the others.

Kili walked over to her side as she was packing her bedroll.
"Do not mind him, he is just..." Fili cuts off his brother. "Thorin, he is just Thorin. It gets better once you get to know him a bit more, hopefully." He muttered the last word.
"So he's always been so harsh?" She asked.

When she first met him in the shire she had no ill will towards the king and Balins story only motivated her to respect him more, and she did. nonetheless a kick to the back in the morning is one way to dampen her respect.

"Not always." Kili replied. "There are times when he laughs."
"And smiles." Fili added with a smirk. Opal chuckled with a roll of her eyes. Bilbo joins her side and they mount there horses.

The two princes ride along side her, Bilbo slowed down to ride next to Gandalf once again.
"So, you and your brother, you two have never traveled outside of the shire before?" Kili asks.
"Bilbo hasn't, I've traveled from Bree to a little passed Therbad."

"Therbad you say?" Fili shifted in his saddle. "And what evils did you come across during your travels?" He asked.
Bilbo was listening intently behind the three.
  "When did you travel?" Her brother asked a bit bewildered.
"years ago,  before I came to live with you. Right after mother passed. and I had no troubles with any evil, just one very annoying squirrel and one thief." 

She didn't notice the other members of the party paying attention to her.
"Did you kill him?" Asked Bofur.
"No," she replied quickly, "there was a man who helped me, his name was Tom. His wife, Goldberry was very kind to me as well. I stayed with them for a day or two and then returned home."

"What would've you done if he hadn't shown up?" Asked Thorin asked, this seemed to silence the rest of the company.

"I don't know. I've never really thought about it." She replied. Thorin turned back with an unimpressed expression. "There is no point in dwelling on the past, what happened, happened. It just turned out that luck was on my side that day."
"I suppose so. You still should've killed 'em I think." Bofur replied.

🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋🜋

They sat around the fire, eating as she hummed a tune.
"What's that?" Asked Kili.
"Hm?" She gave him a confused look.
"It's a song our mother used to sing. Every night before bed." Bilbo replied.

Opal hadn't even realized that she was humming in the first place and now felt incredibly embarrassed that anyone heard her.

"No need to blush lass, it was lovely." Balin smiled. She gave him a curt nod.
"Thank you."
"Mind singin' it for us?" Bofur asked.
"Oh please don't make me sing. I can't stand singing in front of others."
"We won't force you to anything you don't want to." Thorin gave the party a small glare. She nodded again.

"Do you remember much of your mother?" Asked the blond haired prince.
  "It's been very long since she died. But I'll remember things about her sometimes. Like I'll smell something that she smelt like and I obviously remember the song."

The she-hobbit thought of her mother and father fondly. They were kind folk and had a merry way of living. Her mother was a mischievous Took and her father, a brilliant Baggins. Love and laughter echoed through the walls of their home.

"Do you miss them? Your parents?" Kili asked.
  "More that life itself." She smiled fondly at the memory of them. Bilbo sat a hand on her shoulder and she, on his.
Thorin soon called for bed.

The night sky was covered in sparkling stars. She couldn't  sleep with the memory of her family dancing in her mind. She longed for that feeling again.
She stood and walked into the forest.

Spending a few days in the wilderness with a group of very smelly dwarves had taken a toll on her consciousness. She knew she smelt. That's why the half-ling couldn't resist a bath when she caught sight of a stream not to far from camp.

The water was cold and refreshing on her dirty skin. Rocks sat on the ground of the water, some sharp and some round. Her curls became longer from the weight of water being added to them.

There was a sudden rustling in the leaves. Her ears perked and she went completely silent. There was once again movement. Luckily she was still quite close to shore (the water got very deep, very fast). She climbed out of the water and wrapped a blanket around her as she held out a dagger.

There was a harsh tug on her arm and she stood behind a large rock with a hand over her mouth. Not her hand.
  "Shh. An orc. Must have gotten away from its pack. Stay calm." A deep voice whispered in her ear.

She would have felt quite safe and comfortable had it not been for the clothes she was not wearing.

She saw the foul creature walking along the river. Thorin kept a tight grip on the girl. One hand over her mouth still and the other wrapped around her stomach, her back being pulled into his chest. Had he not been here she would have been dead.

The Orc saw her clothes, picked them up, and sniffed them. He then placed them into a bag he was carrying and continued on his way.

"Perfect" she thought. The king removed his hand and she turned to face him.
  "Thank you." Was all she could muster to say.
  "Why did you leave camp? It's dangerous." He asked, looking directly in her eyes.
  "I only wanted to bathe... he took my clothes." She whispered.

Thorin blushed profusely. He quickly took off a jacket he wore and threw it over her shoulders.
  "I have more clothes in my bag if you will go get it. I don't want the lads seeing me like this. They wouldn't look at me the same." She said in pure embarrassment.

Thorin agreed immediately and quickly found her bag and brought it back to her.
  "Thank you."
  "Hurry."
And that she did. Throwing on a tunic and trousers quickly.

"Here's your jacket." She said handing it to him as he sat in his sleeping roll. He nodded a thanks.

She still didn't sleep much that night.