After a good half hour of running I caught up with my new and unlikely friends. Thorin and the rest of his company were resting at the edge of the river. Worry was clear on their faces, they looked tiered and hopeless. My eyes drifted to Kilii, he was lying on the ground and he wore a clear expression of pain. I wanted to help him, I felt compelled to do so, but I was not trained in medicine hence I was useless. I approached them quietly so I wouldn't startle them. As I made my way towards them a twig snapped under my feet. All of the dwarves looked in my direction but I was still concealed by the dense woods.
"Who goes there?" Thorin asked.
I stepped into the clearing and his face seemed to relax. "I come in peace I swear." A smile crossed my lips as I saw him come over me and hug me tight.
"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be doing whatever it is you do with Thranduil?" At the mention of Thranduil my smile fell, Thorin noticed and squeezed my hand. "What happened?"
My heart felt heavy and letting Thranduil into my mind once more was something painful. "He found out it was me who helped you escape." I faught hard so my voice wouldn't crack; I wanted them to see me as someone strong and that they could rely on, not a weak elven fool.
"I'm sorry." Bilbo said due to Thorin's loss for words.
"Its not your fault, I did this to myself. I wanted to help you and I still do, that's the reason I'm here." I forced my voice to sound as determined and clear as it could be, but Thorin saw in my eyes I was scared. I'd lived in Mirkwood for so long now, one day I was in the King's good graces and now he wanted me gone.
"You don't owe us anything Caladhiel, in fact I think you should go back." Thorin's voice seemed final, but I was determined to stay.
"I didn't help you out for nothing! I've been exiled and I can't go back now, I lost everything too you know? When my home was raided by orcs no one was there to help us. My family was slaughtered and I was forced to adapt elsewhere, I know you know how that is, but you can still claim what's rightfully yours and I want to help...my father would want that." This time I didn't want to cry, determination was flowing through my veins and when I saw the rest of Thorin's company smile I knew I wasn't going anywhere.
"Thorin I think we can let her stay." Bilbo said as he shot me a smile.
Thorin took in a deep breath and smiled. "Very well, you can stay with us."
I wrapped my arms around him. "Thank you!" I excalimed.
Thorin smiled at me again but then whirled around and looked at his company. "How are we crossing the lake lads? We need to get to Laketown by tomorrow night at most, we musn't waste any time." His comanding voice was just as scary as Thranduil's but his company didn't fear him.
"We can talk about that in the morning." One of them said. He had blond hair and a striking similarity to Kili.
After that we all settled on the ground and I made my best to sleep. But Thranduil invaded my every thought and I kept replaying our fight in my head, tears rolled silently down my face and my heart ached because it was the first night I didn't have him by my side.
*
The burning sun woke me up and I soon realised the dwarfs were all packed up and ready to go, I stood up reluctantly when an arrow landed close to my foot. All of us turned around and scanned the woods but saw no one. Then another arrow fired.
"Show yourself!" Fili shouted as he stepped over to where I was standing.
The bushes started to rustle, the suspense was killing me, I could hear footsteps approaching us and I could only hope it wouldn't be something dangerous. Then out of the woods came a man. He was tall, his face was a little dirty, he wore a fur coat and a fisher mans shirt and pants, his hair was a little long; it fell just above the shoulders and it was as brown as the earth. As soon as he saw us he began to laugh.
"What an unusual company this is. Thirteen dwarves, a hobbit and...an elf?" He couldn't hide the amusement in his voice and I didn't blame him, we did look quite ridiculous. "Who are you?"
We all looked at each other, we didn't know this man and we didn't know if we could trust him. I felt the urge to tell him what we were up to but I couldn't risk Thorin getting angry at me, so I resolved to stay quiet.
"We need to get to Laketown." Thorin responded.
The man arched an eyebrow and looked at us skeptically. "What business could you possibly have in that wretched town?" He sounded angry, his expression shifted from amused to sad.
"That does not concern you." Thorin challenged, he took a step closer to the man and placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Maybe it doesn't, but I want to know." The man pressed. His eyes flickered, they were of a dark blue, almost black. I hated to admit it but he was handsome and he looked nice. Something in my gut told me he could be trusted.
"Thorin, I think he can help us." I whispered, making my best efforts for the man not to understand.
"I don't know if we can trust him." He whispered back.
"At least ask." I pressed.
Thorin rolled his eyes at me, he was clearly annoyed. "As you wish, but if anything goes wrong it's on you."
It was scary how much Thorin reminded me of myself in some ways. He was fiercely loyal, strong and very hot headed. "That's a risk I'm willing to take." I responded unmoved by his threat.
"You!" Thorin screamed at the man who was now turning away from us.
He stopped and turned around with a smirk on his face. "Yes?" His voice sounded as if a laugh was hidden benath it.
"Take us to Laketown, we are willing to pay you for your services." Thorin walked over to where the man was standing and stared into his dark blue eyes. An aura of respect surrounded them but I could tell that neither of them trully trusted each other.
"How much are you willing to pay?" The man asked.
"When our taks is completed you'll be rewarded." Thorin replied. "But first what's your name?"
"Bard." He responded. "I will take you to Laketown, but we have to be careful, people usually don't come to our small town and much less dwarves." He looked at me and shot me a smile. "It would be a pleasure to help you my lady."
I felt myself flush and shyly smiled at him. Thorin rolled his eyes and grunted. "Stop with the unnecesary flattery and let's go."
*
Laketown was a misserable compound of houses separated by canals. The afternoon sky was a beautiful contrast to the fowl place below. We weren't even within the city and I could tell a great deal of sadness reigned the people. The houses were in pieces, they were all a dark decayed brown, everything smelled like fish and it wasn't a welcoming sight at all.
Kili was getting even more weak but he didn't show it, I could sense it. Getting into Laketown the dwarves had to hide inside barrels filled with reaking dead fish, I limited to cover my ears and give most of my jewlery to Bard so he could pay my way in. He made the dwarves meet him at his home and I followed him with my head covered and hanging low. His house was just as misserable as the others, it had a small dinning table and two creaking beds. He lived with his two daughters and his son who had an uncanny resemblance to his father.
That same day Bard discovered who we really were and Thorin's identity. He thought it was mad for the dwarves to go into the mountain, but he helped them find weapons. Kili was too weak to carry the swords and ended up making too much noice, blowing their cover. The Master of Laketown a greedy old man ended up giving the dwarves permission to embark on this quest, that night was a night of celebration, we drank and ate. I'd never seen the dwarves so happy.
The next moring a little before dawn we went down to the canal to say goodbye to Bilbo, Thorin, Balin and a few others.
"Caladhiel I want to thank you for everything." Thorin said as he gave me a hug. "You might be the only elf I actually don't hate." He laughed and so did I.
"Good luck Thorin, may you succeed and be victorious against Smaug. I hope to see you again someday." I wanted to cry because in the short time I'd known Thorin I'd grown very fond of him.
Then I felt someone tug at the sleeve of my dress. I looked down and saw a smiling Bilbo. "My lady." He bowed. "It was a pleasure to meet you and we'll see each other soon."
Bilbo was the loveliest creature I'd ever met so I couldn't help but wrap him in my arms and lift him up. "I will come by that famous Shire of yours!" I exclaimed.
He had tears in his eyes that made my heart flutter with adoration for him. He was very brave and he didn't know it yet. I saw both him and Thorin embark the little raft with teary eyes, but I returned to Bard's house with the hope that they would suceed.
*
Kili was getting worse by the second, he had a terrible fever and was starting to hallucinate. Bard's daughters managed to cool down the fever a little but things weren't looking so good.
"Will he die my lady?" Fili asked. The sadness in his voice made my heart ache for him and I wanted to tell him everything would turn out allright, but I was a terrible liar.
"I hope not." Was all I could say. In that moment I wished I were better trained in the art of medicine, but I'd focused on other things. I hated the feeling of being useless and I had no idea what to do. "Where is your father?" I asked Bain, he looked worried and an uneasy feeling crossed his eyes.
"I haven't seen him since last night." He said. Worry was clear in his voice. "I'm going out to look for him."
"Stay here." I said as I took hold of his arm. A terrible feeling overcame me. Night was upon us and the town was too quiet for my taste. "It's not safe out there." My voice came out as a soft whisper.
"How do you know?" He asked.
"I just do." I said and then a knock came on the door. My heart stopped as I made my way to open it, my hands were trembling and I took hold of my sword just in case. When I opened the door surprise filled me and I couldn't believe my eyes.