Bring On The Wonder[Thorin Oakenshield]

Chapter 41: Need You Now

When the remaining company reached the gates of Erebor, their leader was nowhere to be found. Balin had a pretty good idea where their king had disappeared to and didn't have a good feeling about it. Dwalin put the half-breed down on the ground, and she rested against the wall, staring out the gates. All she could think of right now was her brother and her two nieces and nephew and whether or not they made it out alive.

Gloin and Dwalin left to see if they could find something to get a fire started. Bilbo looked around as the others were busying doing things, whether it was going to look for some wood for a fire or clearing chunks of stone to make a pathway to the gates. The Hobbit went and crouched down beside his friend, he couldn't even imagine what was going through her mind right now. The worst part was not knowing. They had no idea if the four Dwarves or the woman's family had made it out alive. They could have been killed before the dragon was, they could be hurt or the most unlikely scenario - they may have just made it out alive.

"Bella..." Bilbo started as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"There dead..." The woman uttered lowly. "There all dead."

"Bella, you don't know that. Maybe...maybe they were able to get away safely." Hobbit stated and the half-breed could hear the uncertainty in his voice. Bella just sat there letting everything sink in. The last thing she did with her half brother was argue with him and she regretted it now more then ever. She didn't want that to be the last thing she remember him by. They always argued when she was about to disappear but this time it was different...

Bella's chest hurt from holding in the pain she was feeling. Not just for her brother and the kids, but Fili, Kili, Oin and Bofur as well. Tears began to roll down the woman's face, which eventually led to her choking on her sobs. Bilbo had never seen Bella once on this quest breakdown until now. Bella was in a lot of ways like Thorin, especially when it came to concealing pain. The hobbit sat on the ground beside the woman and wrapped an arm around her shoulder in comfort as she cried against her friend, wishing that it was Thorin holding her right now, she need him now more then anything and he was nowhere to be found.

The half-breed woke up the next day when the early light shinned through the front gates. Bella sat up straighter, squinting before her eyes eventually adjusted to the light and stretched her arms when she noticed that some of the chunks of stone had been cleared to make a pathway through the hall to the gate. Bella stood up from the ground and saw most of the Dwarves were still out, snoring away. Bilbo was sound asleep on the ground not far from her.

The young woman carefully stepped over the chunks of stone, not wanting to wake any of the Dwarves or the Hobbit. They were so exhausted from the last few days of little sleep, they deserved a goodnight's rest. Bella on the other hand wasn't going to find much rest. Not until she knew the truth of her family and friends fate. The half-breed passed by many of the sleeping Dwarf's, looking to see if one of them happened to be the leader but so far it appeared he never came to join the others to rest at all last night.

Glancing around the immediate area one last time at her sleeping comrades, she decided there would be no harm in her taking a venture through the halls of this enormous mountain. Now that she and the others didn't have to worry about the angry beast lurking around every corner, waiting to light them on fire. The young woman made sure she had her sword, and began walking in the opposite direction of the front gates.

It felt like she had been walking around this huge mountain for hours and she felt like she hadn't even seen half what there was to see in this kingdom. Bella had passed by many doors that looked as if they were once bedrooms, but most had been destroyed by the wrath of the dragon and now coated in decades of dust. But every now and then she stumbled on a room, that didn't appear to be too badly damaged. It would take a lot of work, but in just a few months, Erebor could start feeling like home again to these Dwarves... and maybe even for some others who have lost or just never felt like they had a home.