Chapter 22

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"Kili, come on! We're leaving." Fili called out to his younger brother who was approaching Tauriel with his hand in my pocket, fondling something small. I watched Tauriel give him a sad smile as Kili came up to her and I darted my attention to Fili. 

"Give him a moment, would you? He has much to say to her, can't you see that?" Fili glanced to me before sighing as giving the boat another heavy heave. Oin tried his hardest to push the wooden boat back into the water but was failing. 

"You know they could never..." Fili trailed off and gave me a dismissing look but I kept glancing back over to them, still a little hopeful they could figure it out. I knew what Fili was trying to tell me but I just hoped he wouldn't try and spread his knowledge to Kili. They barely knew each other, I'd amit and they were dwarf and elf. Star crossed lovers doomed to stare at each other from balconies or have private meetings behind tall bushes. How sad. 

"I think they know it could never work either," I admitted, a little disappointed in myself. 

"Kili tells me everything, you know."

"And I expect you do the same?" 

Fili gave me a silent nod accompanied with a little smile. 

"And what did Kili tell you?"

"He does admire her," Fili smiled and gave the boat another shove. 

"I knew that! Is there anything I don't know?"

"Plenty."

Fili didn't offer so I didn't pry even though my heart ached to do so. Eventually the blond haired elf joined the party; the prince and sulked about until Kili returned to us, ready to leave and without a precious stone. I watched the stone trade hands and I wondered why I never had anything like that with me from my mother. It wasn't that she never loved me, it was simply that she had her love engraved in me. I didn't need a stone to remind me of a promise I made, I made a promise and crossed my heart when I left her so many years ago. 

Speaking of departures, we left Tilda and Sigrid as soon as we reached the land because the two were so eager to find their father and brother. I doubted they would but their hope was inspiring and a part of me wanted to help them search but Fili was very insistent that we would get on our way. I left Tilda with a kiss on her forehead and wished her the best...

~+~

We climbed the Lonely Mountain and it was exciting for me but emotional for the others. I was not a Dwarf and never grew up on tales of the mountain so never quite had the same lead up to the event. It was like having a piece of chocolate for the first time in three years but for the others, it was the first piece of chocolate they'd ever had. 

They walked with so much purpose! So much force and aggression... I admired it. 

 As we quickly approach the gates, we stop in shock and fear as our eyes landed on the destruction caused by a familiar large winged creature when he smashed through the front gate to fly out of the mountain. I warely glanced at the others, then burst into a full run into the halls of Erebor. Bofur called out, his voice echoing in the silence and my stomach dropped with fear. 

Where had they gone? How had this much destruction happened?! 

"Hello! Bombur? Bifur? Anybody?" We raced through the halls, looking for anyone at all, my heart with the others, desperate to find anyone.  As we flew down a staircase, Bilbo ran up toward us from another hall, calling out. I darted my head around to find him, overcome with joy that my uncle hadn't been killed and I was flooded with questions for him, most would have to wait. 

"WAIT! WAIT!"

"It's Bilbo! He's alive!"

 "Stop! Stop! Stop!"

The lot of us skipped over toward him, a little confused as there were no threats left in the mountain. Smaug was dead!!

"You need to leave. We all need to leave." Bilbo sputtered and looked as if he was about to keel over and die. 

"We only just got here?!"

 "I have tried talking to him, but he won't listen." Bilbo could barely breathe.

"Who?" I asked, feeling a bit skeptical. 

 "THORIN. Thorin. Thorin. He's been out there for days. He doesn't sleep. He barely eats. He's not been himself - not at all. It's this - It's this place. I think a sickness lies on it."  

I felt like kicking a wall. Could we not just get a happily ever after? We'd taken the mountain, done it against all odds and now we faced a maddening sickness that hovered over us? I wanted to see Thorin. I wanted to speak with him myself. 

"Bilbo, I want to see him now." I said wearily and as he opened his mouth to answer me, Kili piped up.  I let out a huff of annoyance that earned me an aggressive glare from KIli. 

"Sickness? What kind of sickness?"

Fili started walking away past the group with a curious expression plastered to his face and started heading further down into Erebor, looking at something in the distance. I couldn't help myself but follow and call out to him, asking what it was he saw. He gave me no answers... Bilbo and the others chased us downwards, some curious and others trying to spot Fili from heading further into the mountain. 

"Fili. Fili. Fili!"  Bilbo shouted, warning him and it only made him want to go faster. 

 As we continued heading down and down, a golden light began to grow visible on the walls and it made my face drop, a little excitement growing inside me that I would soon see the piles of gold. We rounded a corner and I hold my breath finally catching sight of the coins heaped so high over the floor of the cavern that the ground was absolutely nonexistent. As I stared downward, we saw Thorin, dressed in ornate robes and covered in jewelry, stride slowly out of a doorway. Did I expect anything other than this? A king does love his gold, is that not acceptable? Thorin began to mutter under his robes, seemingly to himself. He seemed strange as he stood before us, swimming in his wealth.

 "Gold - Gold beyond measure. Beyond sorrow and grief," he sneered. 

That is a little odd... His head shot us to see us and my eyes cannot be pried away. 

"Behold - the great treasure hoard of Thror."

Very odd... He suddenly flung something high into the air that caught the light and gleamed. It is coming for us and as it snaps into Fili's open hands, I wonder what will come of the others and perhaps even myself.  Fili's jaw is hanging on a hinge as his eyes linger on the oversized blood red jewel and I stare at it, equally impressed. 

"Welcome, my sister's sons, to the kingdom of EREBOR," Thorin shouts the words but still manages to whisper it, making chills flow through my body and my eyes sting with worry. 

I shall warn you though, I did not worry for anyone other than myself as my lip curved into a grimacing smirk. Fili noticed and grabbed my hand, yanking me upwards over the stairs like a toddler and my head started ringing. What was happening?

I wondered why I felt so possessive over the man holding my hand all of a sudden but only let him lead me on, my mind swimming like soup with something I could only describe as lust for sitting above anyone else. 

I wanted to own the gold and I wanted to own him. 

~+~

Thank you so much for all of the support I have been getting on this story and I hope to have it finished for the annual Wattys of 2016! ( #wattys2016 )

Any suggestions of what I could do to broaden this plot and story to make it my best one yet? Leave a comment and tell me how anything here can be improved. If I take your advice, I'll mention you at the end of the chapter it applies to!

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