The Undecided Title Of Sara Miller *Hobbit Fanfiction* (Thorin/OC)

Chapter 38: Lost and Found

But whatever the girl's reasons, well-intentioned or otherwise, and no matter how much he could understand them, that did not block out the sting of betrayal Thorin felt over her actions. She had been able to keep such a monumental secret from him for so long. He had been so blind. It had also been a blow to his pride that she had bested him in both of their recent arguments. Not only that, but she had spoken of their more intimate moments in front of the others and while he was not particularly embarrassed over that fact, he still did not like his personal business aired in public. The woman surrly had a tongue of fire when riled and though not goaded to anger often she could rival even Dis in her ability to argue. This coupled with the fact that she had grown more bold as the weeks had passed and perhaps it was best that the two females never meet. All in all, it was all so much to process and filter through that he was unsure how he truly felt about the quest, the girl, the Valar, and the whole sordid mess, so he had followed his original plan to retake Erebor and let the rest work itself out, or not. Only time will tell if he had chosen wisely.

The girl's hair had reacted to the constant humidity with an unprecedented amount of curl that was not unpleasant but that she had found infuriating. She looked quite at peace with her head on Fili's leg, her breath blowing erant stands of dark hair back and forth, her hands tucked under her cheek, squishing her face. Fili snorted and Thorin realized, to his constellation, that he had been watching the girl sleep for several minutes now and his nephew had become aware of his unintentionally amorous attention. Fili was watching him with an undetermined expression, his eyes shifting back and forth between he and the girl before snorting again and returning his focus to the forest. The sun must have only just begun to rise for though there was enough light that he could see, he knew it would likely be a few minutes before the girl and Mr. Baggins could. A few words muttered in dwarvish to his right brought his attention to Kili who had leaned against him in the night. His face was scrunched as if in pain as he continued to mumble unintelligently in his sleep. At least he was sleeping. His youngest nephew's condition had been a source of worry to him over the past few days. At first it had been a state of utter shock and he had moved as if possessed by an unknown will, but as the days had passed that had shifted slightly. He was less listless though he still did not speak more than necessary and only in response to a question. He and Fili had both met with failure when they had tried to engage him in a conversation. What was strange was Kili did not seem angry as Thorin might have expected, nor was it fear or sadness, no what he saw there scared him much more, for in Kili's eyes there was a type of dull resignation. Vaguely he wished Dis were here. She had always been better at interpreting and shifting Kili's moods where Thorin was much more attuned to Fili, no matter how much they might disagree at times. Alas Dis was not here to offer insight to her youngest son and Thorin was hardly in a position to offer advice as he was still struggling with his own beliefs and desires.

The light had grown bright enough for all to see and Thorin gently nudged Kili awake before rousting the others. Soon and with minimal grumbles and complaints all had risen, eaten a quick meal, and were once again on the move. He set a faster pace as they marched off into the gloom of the morning for he was eager to leave Mirkwood behind as soon as possible.

Sara sat close to the fire, her socks held on a stick over the crackling flames, trying to drive the perpetual damp from the clothing. The fire had been built with wood the company had gathered from the edge of the path as they trekked through the forest. They had been careful not to actually leave the path but even still they had gathered enough to hopefully feed the fire throughout the night. They had taken some effort to get the blaze started as the wood had been quite damp, but finally they had gotten it going. The sun had not gone down just yet and Sara was determined to get as dry as possible before the moths and bats were drawn to the flames. They have seen more spiderwebs today and Sara had to agree with Thorin on this count, if it were a choice between moths and bats or giant spiders, she would take the former any day. Her eyes drifted to Bilbo who stood next to her enjoying the heat.