by my oath [oakenshield] [spin-off]

one

the impossible promise

Crunch. Crunch. Clink. Clank. Crunch.

Those were the sounds that her boots made against the coins as she piled over the huge mounds of gold, and same with the rest of the company.

She never expected any of this to happen, and words could not describe how broken and sad she felt when she saw Thorin walking around the hundreds of piles of gold, and she felt even sadder when Fili and Kili had to witness their own uncle falling under the Dragon Sickness.

Thorin didn't sleep, nor eat, nor show any signs of sanity whatsoever, and it was Bilbo that informed the five of them—Oin, Bofur, Kili, Fili, and the Elf—this when they ran inside Erebor to find their friends, they of which were now climbing over heaps of gold to try and find a stupid stone.

Anne groaned and climbed over a mound, letting herself slide to the bottom. She was exhausted; she and the company had been searching for the Arkenstone for hours with no avail.

"Any sign of it?" she asked the nearest Dwarf.

That Dwarf was Dwalin, frankly, and he grunted his answer, that of which Anne took as a no. That made her groan again and plop down so that her back was lying in the gold heap, sighing when some of the gold decided to slide in her face.

"This. Is. Pointless," she grumbled, throwing a piece of gold to the side. "Where even is the big brute?"

Anne threw another gold coin away to the side, humming when she saw Thorin standing on the balcony at the top and looking over to make sure everyone was doing what they were supposed to, Bilbo standing near him with a blank expression on his face.

"Oh," said Anne. She exhaled as she stood, bending her back and sighing in relief when it gave a satisfying pop and crack. "I've done my searching for the day. I can't do any more of the without feeling myself go crazy. Have fun."

She hopped off the mound and snuck out of the golden chamber, breathing in deeply when she stepped out. Anne cleared her throat and started to aimlessly walk the halls, not really sure where to go. She went up a few flights of stairs, lingering away from the gold chamber yet was nearing the balcony. She leaned on door frame, noticing that Bilbo was gone; he probably snuck away somewhere.

"Aren't you supposed to be looking for my Arkenstone?" Thorin asked when he sensed her presence, just barely looking over his shoulder.

Anne huffed, placing her hands on her hips. "I couldn't find it," she said. "It's not there, so I stopped looking." A pause. "Plus, I wanted to spend time with you... away from the gold."

Thorin grimaced, glancing at the company from below. "Away from the gold..." His voice was low and had a slight rumble, and it seemed almost disapproving.

Anne looked at him sadly. "Please?" she pleaded. "I haven't really had a proper walk through your home."

Thorin thought about it, frowning before sighing and nodding his head in defeat. "How could I resist?" he said with a small smile, a slight glimmer of madness disappearing.

Anne beamed, sighing in relief and stepping to the side as Thorin walked away from the balcony. She followed him as he lead her through the halls and away from the area with all of the gold. "So..." she started awkwardly. "Erebor. Home of the Dwarves."

"And it's King."

Anne breathed out a laugh. "Yes, and it's King," she said, scratching the back of her neck.

Thorin stayed silent, looking to the ground as he walked, somewhat lingering. He looked like something was on his mind, and he also looked very distant.