"I wish we could take the other road for your sake, but we are running out of time." Thorin said, bringing up the argument they'd had the other day.

"I know. It's just...I'm not just an outsider, I'm a criminal. When I left, I was a member of the guard so now I am a deserter. I face up to a few hundred years in prison should they capture me."

"We won't let that happen, and even if it did, once I am king under the mountain, I can negotiate the terms of your release."

"And if we're all caught and don't make it to the mountain by Durin's day?"

"We will break out if we are caught. You know those halls, yes?"

"Yes. And because I know the halls, I know we cannot break out. The keys to the dungeon are kept on the guards, the bars unbreakable, even to dwarf standards. There is no way to escape."

"Then we won't get caught in the first place." Agarwaen shook her head. He thought everything was so simple, when really it was not. "If they do stumble upon us..." He started, his tone softer now. "What would you have us do?" Killing elves was something he once thought nothing of, but with her now among his company, things were different.

"You're the leader of the group. That's for you to decide." She felt herself begin to shut down at the thought of a question similar to the one that has ruined her life. If she were to surrender to them and doom the dwarves and their quest, the enemy could gain control of the mountain. And if she were to fight back in order to do what's right, she would have to kill the elves. Elves that she probably knew and was friends with. It was the worst night of her life all over again.

"They are your kin, and I am giving you the right to decide."

"I don't know. We can't fail this quest, but...chances are I will know the elves. I had many friends in the guard."

"I understand. I do not know that I would be able to choose if it were my kin." Thorin nodded.

"You use that term so loosely, kin." Agarwaen said. To her, it meant mother, father, brother, aunt, grandmother, or son.

"What do you mean?" Thorin was raised with the notion that everyone who was close to him or shared similar blood was considered kin.

"The elves are my friends, yes, but I would not call them kin like I would my mother or grandmother.

"I suppose it is a bit different to dwarves, then. Though some of them are not related by blood, every dwarf here is my kin. We fight together and for each other. We are brothers and sisters in arms, as is every other dwarf from the Blue Mountains to the Iron Hills."

"And you don't fear that any of them will turn on you?"

"Something about dwarves, you must understand, is our loyalty. We are raised in it, taught of it, and live by it. To neglect your loyalty is...It's treated like murder."

"Then why, even after I came back to help you, did you accept me into your company?" Agarwaen, upon hearing this was surprised. Surely him accepting her like he did was in direct disagreement with what his people believed.

"You are a brave and honorable warrior who would give your life to save ours. That is something that dwarves value greatly. I would readily vouch for your honor to any dwarf who looks to you as an enemy." He spoke the truth, and knew that her desire to do the right thing no matter the cost would bring her to greatness. He hoped that she would remain a powerful ally to Erebor even after the quest.

"Thank you. And I, you to any elves who will listen." Thorin nodded and thanked her.

The dwarves around them began to lie down to sleep, along with Bilbo who had already been snoring for a while now. She silently stood up and as she passed Dwalin, told him to wake her in two hours.

After laying down between Bilbo and Gandalf, who was blowing smoke rings into the blackness of night, he spoke to her, quiet enough to not reach the ears of the dwarves.

"They're quite taken with you, you know." He said. "How did that happen? And more importantly. What is all this talk of you getting left behind? I have not yet heard the full story behind that."

"I fell down quite far when we were in the mountains. My hands got all torn up when I tried to keep myself from slipping. It took me two hours to get back up and catch up to them again. When I did, they were in the same cave I'd fallen prey to a few years ago. Hence the goblins."

"You've only answered my second question." He pointed out.

"Thorin thinks I'm a warrior. Just because I fight well and offered to die first to buy them time. And then I beat Dwalin in a spar. I suppose that led to some level of respect."

"He doesn't think, he knows."

"I am not a warrior. I have never been on a battlefield."

"Battle does not create a warrior's heart, it only earns you experience. No, a warrior's heart is born from hardship and perseverance in the face of pain. That is why he calls you a warrior, and don't you forget that."

~~~~~~~~~~

When it was Agarwaen's turn to take watch, she just sat and listened to the sounds of the night. It was mostly overthrown by dwarven snores, but she could still hear crickets and the wind rustling the grass around them. There were wargs howling in the distance every now and again, but they were far enough away that it didn't seem too concerning. She knew they wouldn't dare come near them anyway, seeing as Beorn stood watch over his ponies from a distance. She'd caught snatches of his great bear form as a dark shadow far away, and was glad for it. It brought her some sense of peace to know that they wouldn't be eaten in their sleep by wargs and orcs.

One particularly loud, but still far away howl made her look up from carving random swirls in a stick with one of her daggers.

"How far away was that?" The howl must have woke Balin.

"Far enough. Don't worry, we're safe." Agarwaen assured him. "You think Beorn would just let his ponies loose with a bunch of orcs about? He stands guard from over the hills."

"He does love his animals."

"Very much so, yes. After what Azog did to his people, he took a different approach to life and vowed to live peacefully and not to cause harm to those that merely seek peace. That is why he does not eat meat."

"Had you not known him, he probably would have turned us away." Balin chuckled. "I'm glad you're with us, lass."

"I'm glad to be with you all, too. This adventure has been...everything I ever wanted. And we're only halfway there."

"Surely you must want more than a bunch of rude dwarves who haven't given you a lick of respect until a few days ago, not to mention our run in with goblins?" Balin asked, coming to sit closer to her atop a pile of boulders.

"That's exactly it. It's so outlandish and strange that no one would want that. To me, it just makes it all the more an adventure. I've walked these roads plenty of times, but never with dwarves. I've never spun a tale full of tricks like we did at Beorn's. I've never ripped an axe from a dwarf's hands. It's strange and different. Different brings me joy."

"Why are you so desperate to be different from the elves?"

"I was never like them." She lied. She used to be exactly like them, growing up. Besides her desire for adventure, of course. But during her time away from them, she learned that there was so much more to life, to problems, to people than she was taught. She began to grow a mind of her own, her own ideals and opinions. So when she returned, it was difficult. But over time, she returned nearly to normal. Until that fateful day. "I never fit in, and wouldn't always conform to their opinions. It only made it more freeing when I finally left. I am exceptionally glad for that now, as it's earned me some unlikely friends."

"Indeed." Balin knew she wasn't telling him the full truth due to what Gandalf had told him about her. She was ashamed of what her people had done, and did not want to be seen as one of them. He did not want to push the subject further though, and instead offered his company for a little while, asking about elven culture and such. As an advisor, those can be important facts to know, should trouble with elven kingdoms ever arise. After a while, he returned to bed, and not long after that, it was Nori's turn to take watch.

When morning came back around, they continued on, and ended up reaching the elven gate at around midday. Beorn was not joking when he'd said it had changed since she was last here. It looked to be dying, and had an unsettling aura about it that made her shiver. Gandalf then ordered for the ponies to be set loose, to which she agreed heartily. Taking them into Mirkwood would make Beorn furious.

"This forest feels sick. As if a disease lies upon it." Bilbo said nervously. It did, and Agarwaen wondered exactly what had happened to it to make it decline so fast. "Is there no way around?"

"It would take over two months to go around it north, and not to mention we would pass extremely close to Mount Gundabad. Going around south would take over six months." Agarwaen told him, answering his question quite well with a firm 'no'. She dismounted from her pony and began strapping what supplies she could to herself, leaving behind unnecessary things. She turned the pony loose, before noticing something was not right with Gandalf.

"Gandalf... She approached him. "What is it? What is painted on that statue? Is that an...an...oh gods above that's the eye."

"I must go to the High Fells." He murmured.

"Gandalf, I may not have been there at the beginning, but I know of...of him. And I know that face you're making. For the love of Iluvitar, please tell me it is not him." Agarwaen's heart began pumping faster at the thought. Just what kind of war was she playing a part in? And what kind of enemy were they facing?