The Ranger And The Prince.

White Gems.

Relief washed over me as I finally broke free of the treeline of Mirkwood. The river besides me flowed gently into the vast Lake. I looked up and saw the beautiful Lonely Mountain, standing tall and proud above me.

I let my horse rest that night as we had been traveling nonstop since we left the city of Mirkwood. I finally decided to sleep as well but I found I could only sleep for maybe an hour or two. Usually, even a small sleep like that would leave me refreshed, but for some reason, I felt just as weak as I did when I closed my eyes.

My journey was fairly uneventful. When I traveled with Legolas, we occupied ourselves with talking and sparring matches. Now it was just me, it felt like I was just back to being a ranger. That wouldn't have bothered me usually, I loved being a ranger, but for the first time in my long elven life, I felt completely alone.

I spent half a month on the road, following the bank of the Lake towards the City of Dale. Every week or so, I would rest the horde and try to rest but I found I slept less and less with every passing attempt.

As much as I did usually love the markets of Dale, I found myself completely ignoring them as I rode through its bustling streets towards the Gates of Erebor.

The gates themselves were a wonder to behold. Giant statues of ancient dwarf kings stood either side of the ramparts, brandishing the most mighty of axes. If I were in my right mind, I would have been studying the beautiful architecture but as it were, I wasn't in my right mind.

"Who goes there?" One of the guards demanded from atop the barracks.

"I am Lady Sapphire, I have come to see King Dáin Ironfoot and a visitor to your city, Gimli son of Glóin." I announced loudly though I knew my voice was raspy.

I waited a few minutes before the portcullis was slowly pulled up and the gates opened. I slipped off my horse and pulled down my cloak as some of the dwarven guards tried to lead my horse towards the stables.

One of the captains of the guards, escorted me through the vast halls of Erebor. It never ceased to amaze me how beautiful this dwarven city was but at that moment, I was just looking straight ahead at the dwarf escorting me.

It wasn't long before I found myself walking down the platform of polished stone towards the throne.

For the first time in near of a month, a smile made its way onto my lips as I saw Gimli standing by the side of the King. He beamed up at me, this having been nearly three months since last we saw each other.

"My Lady," Gimli chuckled as he walked over to me.

"Gimli!" I exclaimed happily as I dropped to my knees and flung my arms around him.

I may have caught him off guard with the hug but after what I had just been through, I truly needed it. When I finally got back to my feet, I turned to see King Dáin, slumped back in his throne.

"Lady Sapphire," He laughed heartily, his thick red and white beard bouncing with every laugh, "You do not appear to have grown a single day since last you visited."

"Being an elf will do that to you," I chuckled, though my voice sounded hollow, "Besides, you haven't grown much either, unless your counting waistband."

Dáin threw his head back and laughed again. This was probably what I liked about him, he wasn't as uptight as most of the King's were in Middle-Earth. If I had gone up to any other leader and insulted their weight, they wouldn't be amused, but Dáin wasn't like that, he could take a joke and didn't really take things so literal.

"You've the body of a bloody elf but yer a dwarf at heart," He chuckled, "To what do I owe this sudden appearance of yours?"

"Let's just say, I had a disagreement with King Thranduil of Mirkwood..." I trailed off, choosing my words carefully, "I was hoping the hospitality of the dwarves would do me better than the woodland elves."