Daughter of Starlight

Chapter Seventeen: One of Us

The Master welcomed the company to sleep in the guest rooms of his house as a sign of hospitality. Though I was eager for a warm place to sleep, I was disgusted by the fact he was only treating us kindly so he could hoard the dwarfish riches he was to inevitably receive.

Upon inspection of my room, I was a little disappointed. There must have been a time when the rooms were considered luxurious, but everything had long since gone to ruin from lack of maintenance. Dust coated the dull carpets on the floor, the drapes by the windows and bedcovers were moth eaten, and the whole room was obviously poorly insulated judging from the perpetual dampness. I found myself wishing we had stayed at Bard's house.

I sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. If it hadn't felt like sitting on a damp sponge, it would have been a pleasantly soft place to sleep.

I heard a knock on the door to my room and went over to open it, seeing Fili standing at the door. He told me Thorin had called for a meeting of the company to be held to plan out how we would get to the Lonely Mountain tomorrow.

I followed Fili to what looked like someone's study, except the desk was bare and the bookshelf walls were empty. The company crowded around the desk, where Thorin stood opposite them. I situated myself between between Fili and Kili, taking brief notice of Kili's trembling stance, as though he were having trouble standing. Thorin's briefing trumped any side concerns for the moment, though.

"The Master is going to grant us weapons and armor," he told us. "And he will provide us a boat to cross the rest of the lake. If we set out at daybreak, we will make it to the mountain before sunset."

While Thorin continued talking, I felt Kili nudge me.

"What?" I whispered.

"What did that man mean when said that you---"

"Now is not the time to discuss that, Kili," I said immediately, partially because of my unwillingness to speak of the matter and partially because of Thorin's chastising glance.

"Discuss what?" Now Fili was in the conversation I really didn't want to have.

"We are discussing what's to be done tomorrow, not my current status as royalty."

"Or lack of one," Kili grumbled, seeming insulted by my insistence on dropping the matter. However, his words insulted me even more.

"Excuse me?" I demanded a little louder than I'd intended.

"Laerornien, Kili, Fili," Thorin said loudly. We all were silenced and felt shame weigh down our shoulders.

"Is there anything important you would like to announce to the rest of the company since it concerns you more than what's to come tomorrow?" he asked.

"No, Uncle," Fili and Kili mumbled. I only shook my head in response.

Thorin continued to speak, but Kili wasn't done.

"Laerornien, why would you hide who you were from us?" he asked. He wasn't referring to my being a princess. They already knew that. He was referring to Alfrid's accusation.

"You didn't need to know," was my hushed response.

"What did he mean when he said you haven't been a princess for a long time?"

"Not now, Kili," I said warningly. I knew he didn't understand why I didn't want to speak about this, but I still found a way to be angry about his ignorance. Why hadn't he bothered to piece everything together by now? I had addressed Legolas as my brother back in Mirkwood, and the stories of my banishment were surely still well known, according to Alfrid. Hadn't he heard, or was he too busy wallowing in the grief of his lost kingdom?