Healing, Magic, And Unexpected Adventures

Chapter Eighteen - Problems Involving Kili and Fili

I sneezed.

'That was adorable,' Bofur said.

'Shut up,' I said, sniffing.

Bofur chuckled, but he didn't say anything when I sneezed again. The icy conditions had given me a cold, but it was nothing more than an inconvenience when we were so close to the Lonely Mountain.

I continued checking up on Kili's wound. It wasn't healing as I had hoped it would, but infection was something I could deal with. My main concern was whether it was infected, or poisoned.

'Is it alright?' Kili asked. He was trying to be brave, but he was sweating.

'It's nothing I can't handle,' I assured him. 'Just don't do anything too exciting.'

'Like fight a dragon?'

We grinned at the dry humour, before I tied a new bandage onto the wound and told him to rest while he could.

Thorin strode up to Bard, tilting his head back so he could look the man in the eyes.

'You took our money,' he said. 'Where are the weapons.'

'Wait here,' Bard said, before walking off down the stairs.

I sneezed again, feeling a headache coming on.

'Here,' Fili said, giving me his blanket.

'I'm fine,' I said.

'Take it,' he ordered.

I let him wrap it around my shoulders. He opened his mouth, like he was going to say something, but Bard came back up the stairs with a package before he could. He dumped it on the table, but I had had enough of weapons.

I didn't listen as the dwarves bickered over the crude tools. Only Bard's statement caught my ear.

'You're not going anywhere.'

'What did you say?' Dwalin growled.

'There's spies watching this house and probably every dock and wharf in the town,' Bard explained. 'You must wait till nightfall.'

The company weren't happy but they began to settle down. Thorin and Balin were whispering in a corner, and the others formed their natural social circles with each other, leaving me and Uncle Bilbo watching them like we had been at the start.

'You like them, don't you?' he asked.

'I suppose I do,' I said. 'It's surprisingly hard to be distant with them.'

'I'm glad,' he smiled. 'And Fili?'

I cleared my throat, feeling my cheeks grow warm.

'I do hope you're not trying to have a father-daughter bonding talk about boys,' I said.

'It's obvious you like him,' he said. 'I remember when you were younger and you promised me that you would never agree to court anyone unless they could name every type of blood vessel.'

'I stand by what I said.'

Uncle Bilbo laughed, and I marvelled at how far we had both come.

'Well, I suppose he'd better get studying then,' he said.

'Please, stop talking about this,' I begged.

'Stop talking about what?' Fili asked, coming over.

'Bouvardia actually being an adorable child,' Uncle Bilbo said before I could shut him up.

'Uncle,' I hissed as Fili smiled.

'When she was twenty-'

'Don't you dare tell them that story,' I said.

'There is no time for stories,' Thorin said. 'We leave for the armoury.'