An Unexpected Journey

Chapter Fifty-Eight: Doing the Right Thing

Thalia brushed some hair from her face stepping outside of Bard's home, she closed the door behind her and walked slowly over to Paloma; she was sure that Kíli would be fine now with some rest. 

The cool morning air made Thalia shiver as she saw the sun was slowly rising, she couldn't help but wonder how far the others had gotten and she hoped that they were okay; she didn't regret her decision to stay behind now after what had happened. 

Thalia didn't say anything as she stood beside Paloma and watched the sun rise, it had been a long night and she just couldn't imagine what would have happened if she hadn't shown up. 

Paloma took a deep breath, she had no idea what to make of all of this and she feared what her next move would be; her head felt so much more clearer now that she was away from Mirkwood. 

Paloma knew that the forest had twisted her mind, she felt like herself again and she had a destiny to think about; there were things that needed to be done and that she couldn't stay hidden away anymore. 

"I don't want to talk about it," Paloma murmured not looking to Thalia, she didn't want to talk about what had happened the last time that she had seen her cousin; she didn't wish to recall about how warped her mind had been. 

Thalia didn't say anything but nodded her head, she had no idea what was going on in Paloma's mind; she just wanted answers about what was going on and what to expect. 

Thalia knew that she was meant to be helping defeat some evil dark force, she wasn't sure what they had to do when there was so much happening in the world at that moment. 

"I thought being there was perfect," Paloma whispered shaking her head, her thoughts had been so clouded and her mind warped into thinking that everything was so good in Mirkwood. 

Paloma had even been willing to marry someone who didn't love her, Thranduil hadn't helped and she knew that she wouldn't be returning to that place.

"It made me feel wanted for the first time in a long time," Paloma mumbled looking down at her hands, she had spent most of her childhood alone and she hated that her parents had caused all of this. 

Paloma wasn't sure what to think of Zeus and Hera, she didn't really see them as her parents and she doubted that she ever would; she was sure that Thalia and Cornelia felt the same way about their own parents. 

The Gods had messed with their DNA to correct a mistake that they had made, Paloma wanted nothing more than to forget about all of this and she doubted that she would be allowed to just walk away. 

Thalia looked at Paloma, it was nice to know that she wasn't alone in the feeing unwanted part; her adoptive parents had never been kind to her and she wasn't sure how to feel about Poseidon and Amphitrite. 

It wasn't something that Thalia had put much thought into especially with everything that was happening around her; she had been more focused on keeping everyone alive during the journey ahead. 

Looking towards the mountain, Thalia prayed to whoever would listen that everything was going to be okay, she didn't want to think about what could possible go wrong while Thorin and the others were alone heading to the mountain. 

"Now I need to start thinking about what I will do next?" Paloma sighed shaking her head, she couldn't believe how stupid she had been and she needed to start thinking about her own future. 

Legolas wasn't the man that she wanted and she felt wrong now that she realised that he had never loved her; it had all been Thranduil's idea and he had wanted control over her in some way.

"They'll be okay," Paloma murmured looking at Thalia, she could tell her cousin wasn't listening to her properly and she didn't want to talk about why she had gone along with what was happening in Mirkwood. 

Paloma doubted that she would ever understand herself, she was going to focus at the task that she had and she hoped that when they were forced to face whatever the Gods had in hand for her then she would be able to face it. 

"I know," Thalia whispered closing her eyes, she couldn't imagine what Thorin was doing at that moment and she wanted nothing more than to forget that there could very well be a dragon waiting in Erebor for the company. 

Paloma looked at Thalia, she had seen how the blonde was when it came to Thorin and it did make her curious; she wanted nothing more than to ask about it but she knew better. 

The two cousins barely knew each and they had enough on their plates after what had happened in the last few days; they would have to get moving when Kíli was well enough to travel. 

"Have you seen Cornelia?" Paloma asked wondering where the third was, she hadn't seen Hades's daughter and she doubted that she would be catching up with them anytime soon. 

It wasn't hard for her to imagine that Cornelia had found herself some tavern to stay at and was causing all sorts of mayhem; she wasn't overly fond of the other cousin who was just as much of a nightmare as her father in Paloma's opinion. 

"Not in about three months," Thalia replied with a shake of her head, she couldn't believe that it had been that long since she had seen Cornelia; none of it felt right and she was sure that time wasn't going to slow down anytime soon and they were running short of time. 

Paloma raised an eyebrow, she was a little surprised that the other two hadn't stayed together and she guessed that was Cornelia's fault; the other demi-god had never been good when it came to getting along with others.

***

"When will you be able to leave?" Bard asked not wanting the dwarves to stay in his home a moment longer than needed, he had only taken them in because they were in desperate need of help. 

Paloma rolled her eyes at how eager the human was to get rid of them, they hadn't been here long and he was asking when they left; they would need a couple of days before they could move on. 

"Soon," Thalia murmured checking on Kíli, she was pleased to see that his injury was actually healing and she was hopeful that in a day or two they would be able to follow after the others. 

Kíli smiled at Thalia, he wanted nothing more than to head on to the mountain and join his uncle and the others; he doubted they would be there in time to see them reach the door but he wanted nothing more than to see the home that he had never known. 

Bard huffed walking away and leaving Thalia to continue cleaning the wound, he wasn't sure how much longer he could do this especially with people watching his every move.

Paloma watched Bard go and shook her head, they would leave when they would leave and she was sure that they wouldn't be leaving a moment sooner; they would need all their strength to reach the mountain. 

Thalia didn't look at Bard as he left them alone, she didn't blame him for being tense but she wasn't going to rush Kíli's recovery just so that they could get out of his hair; it wasn't going to be easy and they would be gone soon anyway. 

Thalia peeked over at her cousin, she wondered if Paloma could sense anything since she felt uneasy; it wasn't just down to the fact that the company had gone on without her. 

Thalia had a feeling that staying in Laketown wasn't going to be peaceful for long.