His Amorem

Hello Laketown

While most of the dwarfs gathered at one end of the boat, Fili and Kili sat Keerla near the paddle end. They were silent as the barge man moved them through the water; he hadn't made any comment since telling then to get on. The other dwarfs however were all grumbling between themselves about what to do once they hit Laketown.

"Go talk to your uncle," Keerla mumbled, nudging both of the boys as she tried to hide her shivers, "See what he's planning. I can't hear him when he's that quiet."

"Fili can go, I'll stay here."

"Shut up and go," she smiled, kissing his cheek, "I'm not going anywhere Kili."

Fili mumbled under his breath, not wanting to get up but eventually she shot them a glare and they rushed toward the dwarfs with their tails between their legs. She barely caught what Fili said to his brother, but it made her laugh all the same.

"You're wife's scary sometimes, just like mother."

A few minutes later something heavy dropped on her shoulders, and she peered around to see Bard had given her a thick fur cloak. Glancing up, she gave him a smile, trying to stop her teeth chattering.

"Thank you, i d-didn't even notice." He nodded but said nothing, so she continued, "Thank you also f-for helping us. W-What's your name?"

He hesitated, but finally said, "Bard, my name is Bard . . . Why did you call me Girion?"

"I'm sorry," Keerla apologised, "It's just, w-well, you sounded and looked a l-lot like him. Girion was, although you m-may know, the Lord of Dale before the city was d-destroyed. I used to visit him in those d-days, as a messenger for Thranduil. He was a great m-man, honourable, a family man much like yourself."

If she hadn't been shaking too much she would have noticed the guilt on Bard's face. Further conversation was interrupted as Bilbo toddled over, engaging the man in conversation and Keerla turned her attention to Kili as he came back. A cold wind blowing in from over the icy waters caused Keerla to shiver violently and he pressed his hand against her forehead.

"You're freezing! Why didn't you tell me?" Kili demanded, pulling her into his lap.

"Ouch!" she hissed, but nuzzled into his shoulder, "Sorry, didn't want to w-worry you," she shuddered again. "Bard gave me this cloak; it's keeping me warm enough."

Shaking his head, Kili whispered in her ear the plans that Thorin had come up with – which were neither many nor plausible. She huffed and curled as close to him as she could get, wrapping the cloak around the two of them. Until they reached Laketown, they couldn't make any proper plans.

"Watch out!" Bofur cried, making the two of them look up.

Bard had expertly poled the barge between two rock formations, but up until the last second it looked as though they were going to collide. Keerla gasped as she looked around. The rock formations were more than random she realised, they were ruins.

"What are you trying to do, drown us?" Thorin demanded.

Bard's reply was smart and Keerla was sure there was a cheeky smile hidden in his lips, "I was born and bred on these waters, Master Dwarf. If I wanted to drown you, I would not do it here."

Dwalin mumbled something too quiet for Keerla's ears to pick up on, then Bilbo spoke. Eventually they were all conversing too quietly but she didn't care. The pain in her side seemed to be spreading to the rest of her body, but she did her best to ignore it and pressed soft kisses against Kili's neck.

"Stop it," he muttered, though he arched his neck slightly to give her more space, "Keerla please; it's been months, i am not as restrained as you think i am."