Washed up - A Hobbit story

XXVIII

I'm so sorry that I have not updated! It's been forever and I'm so sorry about that. Schoolwork has been crazy and just as I finished one assignment, another deadline was peeking behind the corner. February was a bit more relaxing with school and stuff, but I wanted to relax when I had the opportunity. But now, I'm determined to be back and update this weekly.

And 1.3k reads O.O Thank you so much, I love you all! 

We didn't talk much as we made our way along the water, only sounds were the slight splashes when the baddles hit the surface. I stared back at the smoking city. "I could have told them to leave sooner. I could have saved most of them." Guilt weighed heavily on my shoulders and I took in a stuttering breath, trying to calm down my thoughts. I turned to face forward and locked my eyes on Erebor. I was curious, the insides were shown so little in the movie so I couldn't wait to see what was inside that the movies or books hadn't covered. A splash broke my thoughts and I turned my head toward's the source, Kili's paddle had hit the water in an angle that had caused the water to spill all over his coat.
"Kili, I can row for a while if you want to rest," I suggested, knowing what the answer would be.
"No, you rest. We are almost at the shore anyway." I rolled my eyes but smiled. He had been saying the same thing for a while now, and only now we were actually close to the shore. I knew that they didn't want me to row, being a woman and all, but it troubled me that they had to do all the work and I could just sit still and watch. 

I lowered my blanket so it wouldn't get wet as I peeked over the edge of the boat into the water. The boat caused ripples into it, but I could still see my reflection on the surface. It had been a while when I had seen my image in a mirror before, and what I saw stunned me. I had lost weight, not so much that it was unhealthy, just the extra I had had before being thrown into here. The bruises on my neck were healing, and I ran my hand across one to see if it still hurt. It did, and I moved my hand off of it quickly, surprised by the sharp pain that made me gasp. They were now dark purple, but I knew that bruises tend to get worse before they get better, so I didn't think anything about it and sat back down, pulling the planked back up to my ears.

I glanced at Fili, who was paddling at a steady pace, muscles tensing up and relaxing in a hypnotizing rhythm.
"There is one thing you could do to help," Kili spoke again, and I turned my eyes towards him, quite hastily as I realized I had been staring. Luckily, no one seemed like they had noticed but I couldn't help but blush. Bofur was rowing and Oin was checking the small pouches he had to see what herbs and how much he had left.
"What is it, Kili?" I asked, happy that I could do something more than look at the scenery.
"Tell us a story." I giggled and Fili huffed and I let out a small laugh.
"Fine, I'll tell you a short one, as we are nearly at the shore. I need my breath for walking after that." I pondered for a moment and decided on Princess and the pea, it had fascinated me greatly as a child. I cleared my throat and started.
"There was once a prince, and he wanted a princess, but then she must be a real Princess. He traveled right around the world to find one, but there was always something wrong..."

- - - -

"But how could she feel the pea under so many mattresses, it doesn't make sense." Kili was still pondering the story, even after we were nearly at the mountain.
"Because she was a real princess," I responded patiently, even if I had answered the same question ten times already while we were walking.
"But how..." 
"Stop asking the same question over and over, Kili. It's quite annoying." Fili huffed from his spot in front of me, and I glanced back at Kili, who closed his mouth with a slightly hurt expression. 
"Fili." I panted.
"We should slow down, Bofur and Oin are falling behind." Fili slowed his steps only a little, and I forced my exhausted legs to walk faster so I could walk at his side. We both glanced back at the older dwarf and he had fallen behind, Bofur was encouraging him to move forward.
"I know that you want to make it to the mountain as soon as possible, but the rest of us aren't as young or fit as you and Kili. And some of us have injuries, you know." I squinted and he stopped like he had hit an invisible wall.
"I'm sorry, Bea, I didn't remember." His eyes trailed to my leg, to the spot where he knew the arrow wound was, and I waved my hand dismissively.
"I can keep up- Well, barely. But Oin especially is struggling. And Kili's leg isn't fully healed either. "