The dwarves were huddled in a group, throwing questioning glances at you and murmuring to one another. You felt even more out of place than usual, scuffing the grass with the toe of your boot.

Due to your human and dwarf heritage, you had always felt out of place. Your grandmother had been human, and some of her features had been passed down from your half-blood father to you. You had thankfully not inherited the human height, however you couldn't be called short either. Your smooth, beardless face calls you out as part human, as all lady dwarves have beards. And your ears, delicate and smaller than dwarven ears, also set you apart from the rest.

Looking over at Thorin, talking quietly with Gandalf, you feel a pang of loss. You had loved him for so long, and he couldn't even meet your eyes. It was almost enough to make you cry.

So many memories.

You remember it like it was yesterday, the day you and Thorin had first met. A group of young dwarves had been taunting you, throwing stones and sticks as you huddled, shivering and crying in the tree, a small child. "Freak," they had taunted "monster!".

You were an outcast, an orphan on the streets, with no future.

All of a sudden the bullies had scattered, as a young man and his friend scared them away, yelling and chasing them off. It had been young prince Thorin and his friend Dwalin who had helped you out of that tree, and when you had looked into his eyes, you felt at home.

Thorin's father and grandfather welcomed you with open arms, and accepted you as a foster child in their house. You were educated and trained as a noble, learning skills with a sword with Thorin as you both grew older. The young prince was only 2 decades and a few years older than you, and you two became fast friends.

However, as you both grew up, something changed between the pair of you. You began to see Thorin differently, seeing his handsome face, his honourable and kind nature, the appeal of his rare smiles.

Though the age gap meant nothing in dwarven culture, he was a prince, destined for a highborn lass. Through marriage, Thorin could secure a potentially crucial alliance for Erebor, one that could greatly benefit the mountain for years to come. You weren't even a feasible option, and thus kept your growing feelings to yourself, as painful as it was.

But one year, on the festival of Durin's day, he pulled you aside, both of you laughing. Your cheeks had been flushed, with flowers woven into your hair. The air had smelt of honey and mead when he had kissed you, and you had been inseprable ever since, with Thror and Thrain's unexpected blessing of course.

Until that night a few years later, where your world was turned upside down.

The morning sun had just fully risen from behind the horizon when you hear heavy footfalls behind you. Almost instantly, you knew it was him.

"Hey," you greet Thorin, smiling slightly as nerves made your fingers tremble. He looks away, not meeting your gaze, and sits down beside you. Another spike of fear pricks your heart- what if he hates me?

"We need to talk." The sound of his deep baritone voice sends shivers through your spine. Far too long.

"Yes, we do," you admit.

"Thorin," you began, and you could feel your throat tighten. He looked up to meet you gaze and you saw his beautiful blue eyes. They were filled with pain, and loss, and it broke your heart all over again that you had done this to him. What have I done?

"I....," You looked at him helplessly.

"Uncle!" Kili cried out, striding towards Thorin. And the moment was broken. "Fili and I have found something."

You watched Thorin's face morph from vulnerable to his stoic and stony business face. He had done it often in the cutthroat dwarvish court, where letting your guard down was literally the difference between life and death. Swords were sharp then, but sharper were words. Many had fallen from Thror's favour with the slip of the tongue, and learning to walk the knife's edge of propriety was drummed into his grandson like a second heartbeat.

And you just knew that cracking that icy exterior would be even harder than if was the first time.

"Kili, I told you and Fili not to wander off," Thorin reprimanded his nephew.

"But what have you found?" He queried, a slight frown upon his features.

"A cave," Kili said excitedly, enthusiasm radiating off him. "And there's a lot of chests and things in it. Jewels and gold maybe?"

"We shall continue this later," Thorin addresses you, before he stood up, brushing the grass from his clothes. Barking orders to the others, who startpacking up, Thorin strides in the direction of the wizard. But as you watch him murmur something to Gandalf, you can't help but call out, heart in your throat.

"Does that mean I can travel with you?"

Thorin's piercing gaze met yours for a pulse-stopping second, and he gives a brusque nod before striding into the forest after his nephews.

"You'll have to forgive him," Gandalf is by your side.

"He has a lot of responsibility, and your return, erm-," he pauses "...complicates things."

" But come now," he placates you, seeing your face fall. "We don't want to be left behind!"

And so you became the 15th member of the Company of Thorin Oakenshield.

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