Pressing a quick kiss to Kili's lips, Keerla hurried along behind Bard and his son whom she had learned was called Bain. Kili watched her go, before following his Kin, worried about the limp his wife seemed to have taken on.
Bard slipped Keerla into the house as he turned and tossed an apple at one of the men on the fishing boat, Bain following after her. He made a comment she didn't catch, and stepped inside, shutting the door. Keerla pulled the cloak off, only to come face to face with a girl her height and one that barely reached her chest.
"An elf!" the little one exclaimed.
"Sigrid, take Keerla into the back, get her a pair of your mothers pants and a tunic, she's injured so help her wash up. Tilda, you stay with me, Bain, get the rest of them in," Bard ordered, giving his children no time to talk.
Sigrid led Keerla into a back room, obviously Bard's she guessed from the male clothing lying around. The girl said nothing as she dug through a chest, pulling out some rather high-quality leather pants that laced up the front and a shimmering gold and ivory tunic.
"Oh no, i can't take that," Keerla backed away, "Those look much too nice, haven't you got anything old and ragged?"
"Our mother never allowed us to wear such things," Sigrid smiled, "She always kept everything pristine, this is the oldest and most worn thing you will find, other than the house itself, and what our father wears."
Keerla relented with a small sigh, and sat on the edge of the bed as Sigrid disappeared for a moment, coming back with a bowl of water and some cloth.
"Um," she peeled the material from Keerla's skin, "You'll have to undress for me to see properly. The – the dwarfs are all getting changed in the front, so they won't bother you."
Nodding, Keerla carefully detached her corset from her body, using one arm to cover her breasts while the other tugged off the material wrapped around her wound.
"I have a bustier thing somewhere," the girl muttered, "Some kind of corset underwear my mother wore under her tunics; I'll get it once I've cleaned this wound."
"I'll do it," Keerla jumped in, not wanting the girl to see how back it was, and put on a playful grin as she said, "You just find me that corset thing."
Sigrid dug back into the chest, and Keerla took the time to quickly wipe away the blood. The wound did not look good, it was black and it seemed to be spreading through her veins causing spidery black lines on her pale skin.
She wrapped it quickly with the fresh bandages, cursing herself for never paying more attention to any healing remedies, and glanced up as Sigrid held a piece of white material in front of her. It was shaped like a corset that hooked together up the front, though it cut off two inches above her wound.
"Thank you," she murmured, and let Sigrid help her get it on, no longer caring for hiding her body – they were both female after all.
She then had her head dunked in a bucket of cold water that Tilda had brought in, and both girls scrubbed from Keerla's scalp to the ends of her hair, all the while she bit her lip to stop from crying out in pain caused by her wound. The leather pants clung to her like a second skin, and the tunic reached her hips but it was nice on and remarkably warm.
While she pulled on some over-the-knee brown leather boots Sigrid had hunted out – they were old and dusty, but comfortable and tied up the back – Tilda sat behind her and combed through her hair, removing the beads as she came to them. Keerla felt the braid lift from the back of her neck and reached behind her, catching the young child's hand.
"Not that one, don't undo that braid."
"It's so beautiful, and intricate," Sigrid murmured, looking at it over her sister's shoulder, "I've never seen such a thing. And the bead is a different colour – does it have meaning?"
Hesitating, Keerla decided it would cause no harm and told the girls, "It's a courting braid; it signifies a relationship between me and my partner. Though the bead now symbolises our marriage rather than our courting."
"You're married?" both girls asked, then squealed.
"Which one is it, the tall blonde one?" Sigrid asked, "No, the black haired one that scowls a lot?"
"No," Tilda piped up, "It's the one with brown hair, right? He wears the same bead in his hair."
"That's right," Keerla grinned, "His name is Kili."
"How long have you been married?" Sigrid asked, pulling Keerla's hair into a high horse tail.
She used Kili's braid to tie in place which caused the bead to stick out in her hair. She then placed the other beads around various clumps of hair in the tail.
"Not long," Keerla admitted, letting Tilda pull her to her feet, "Since July i think, I've quite lost track of time."
They spoke a bit more about girly things, before Sigrid and Tilda led her back to the front of the house where the dwarfs stood, talking together by the fire, wrapped in cloaks.
"What did i miss?" Keerla asked sidling up to Kili while the girls went to help their father and brother in the kitchen.
"Bard's going to let us stay here for a few days," Bilbo explained, "Give us time to rest up and get some supplies together before we leave."
"Oh good," she murmured, "We all need time to relax after Mirkwood." When she caught Thorin's look of disapproval she added, "There's still plenty of time between now and our deadline, i think we all deserve the break for getting so far."
Everyone gave a grumble of agreement, and Thorin sighed knowing it was the truth. The next few days were a bit cramped, what with thirteen dwarfs, an elf, a hobbit and four humans all under one roof. But they managed to do just fine.
One evening, Keerla had only just managed to fall asleep through the pain, when Thorin was waking her up, as well as Fili and Kili who had sandwiched her between them.
"Come on," he whispered, "We're going to get some weapons from the armoury."
Keerla huffed, remembering what Bard had said about it being heavily guarded, but allowed herself to be pulled upright. Kili still had the bow from Mirkwood, but he'd given her the fighting blades which she now hid in her boots. It was the only weapons they had between them.
They crept through the town under the cover of night. Keerla managed to suppress every cry and whimper that tried to leave her, but the pain had taken over most of her left leg, causing her to limp.
"Shh! Keep it down," Dwalin hissed as two watchmen walked past their hiding spot.
Thorin peered out and then turned back to the company, "As soon as we have the weapons, we make straight for the mountain."
Several dwarfs made a pyramid like ladder up to an open window of the armoury and Thorin watched for the right moment.
He then turned to Nori and said, "Go, go, go!"
Nori took a running start and climbed up the dwarfs like a squirrel, hopping through the window with ease. Bilbo followed, a little slower but he got there all the same. Fili went next, then Keerla who cringed but forced herself to use her elven skill to get up without much of a fuss. Fili pulled her in as Kili followed right behind her, grasping her grey face in his hands to look at her bloodshot eyes.
"I'm fine," she swatted him away, "I will be fine."
Soon, she, Kili and Fili found themselves with their arms piled full of weapons. Bofur placed another sword on top of Keerla's pile, but Thorin noticed her shift her weight almost loosing hold of everything.
"You alright?" he asked, looking over her quickly, he had never seen her so ill.
"I can manage, Thorin," she gave a weak smile, "You've seen me survive much more than an arrow to my side. Let's just get out of here."
He nodded wearily, but placed another axe on her pile and led the way down stairs. Kili and Fili went ahead of her, followed by all the others while Keerla tried to shift most of the weight into a hold that was comfortable. Unfortunately she barely managed half the stairs before her legs gave way beneath her.
The metal made loud clangs and bangs as it fell, and she gave a cry as she tumbled down the steps, weapons cutting into her skin as she rolled over them. Glancing up with wide guilty eyes, she met Thorin's panicked gaze.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, only to be yanked back against the stair post, a blade at her throat.
"No!" Kili cried, dropping his own pile of weapons to run to her, but he and the others were quickly surrounded.
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