Princess Under The Mountain.

Beorn the Bearman.

''Be careful. It is quite slippery here.''

Thorin was once again leading the group down the mountain and into the direction of Mirkwood. Durín's Day was getting closer and closer, and father was not sleeping well in fear of not reaching the mountain in time.

He was internally fighting with himself. His eyes would land on me, how I was hopping forward with the branch Kíli gave me a few days ago when I had been wounded from the Warg attack, Bofur letting me lean on him if things were getting a bit too difficult at times. The kind dwarf had helped me out a lot lately.

But because of me, we were moving slower and that made father nervous. Gandalf tried to reassure him that we would still be there in time, but since when can you reason with father?

It was late at night when we finally stopped to rest. Oin was taking care of the wound, cleaning it to avoid infections and replacing the bandage. I needed my rest, travelling so much each day was really tiring. Thorin had given Bilbo the order to look out for Azog and his Orcs and he hadn't returned yet. I was sure that he would be fine, but just the idea of little Bilbo facing the Orcs all by himself wasn't really nice.

''Are you alright, Elly?''

Thorin was sitting beside me now, looking down at my ankle. I moved my hand over the bandage as I leaned over, shrugging a little before I put my boot back on. ''I will manage. It would just be great to find proper equipment for Oin to take care of this. It is slowing us down. I do not want to be the reason for us arriving too late.''

Just the thought of being the reason for this quest to fail was making me shudder. I was here to prove that female dwarves could easily be warriors and travellers, instead of remaining in their cottage in the Blue Mountains and taking care of the children as their husband was out fighting in a war or travelling. 

I had been travelling since I was born. As a toddler I was already sitting on my father's shoulders as the dwarves were on their way to a next village to earn money. He would show me the world, telling me tales of battles on the grass lands and quests towards the mountains we were passing. The outside world made me feel amazing, it was where I belonged. I couldn't remain in a village, waiting for the men to return.

I would fight side by side with them.

''I agree with you. We have to move faster,'' Thorin admitted. I was happy he was not lying to me. ''How are your ribs?''

My question surprised him, almost like he hadn't expected someone to worry about him, but only about his daughter. 

''I believe it is slowly healing. I do not think it is necessary for-...''

''Oin!''

I gestured for the older dwarf to come and he immediately grabbed his bag for herbs and several equipments. When I turn my head back to Thorin, he had narrowed his eyes. I lean onto the branch of wood to get up, grinning down at my father. ''Even future kings need some help every now and then.''

I noticed the small smile appearing on his lips before he pulled up his tunic to reveal the wound to our Company's healer, who immediately went to fix it with herbs and some kind of ointment. I sat down with my two cousins, listening to the stories and jokes they were telling each other and was entertained until Bilbo returned.

The Hobbit seemed to have been running, as he had to lean forward with his hands resting on his knees as his breathing was heavy. Thorin got up, walking towards Bilbo with our wizard soon following him.

''How close is the pack?''

''Too close, couple of leagues, no more. But that's not the worst of it,'' Bilbo replied to my father's question. Dwalin got up to join the conversation, his eyebrows furrowed. ''Have the Orcs picked up our scent?''