That's Another Story For Later

Madness

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I relinquished my stare on Bilbo, but I sent him a look that meant we'd talk later. He looked away from my eyes, staring at the fire Bombur was cooking on. Kili looked at me curiously, and I waved him off. I leaned into him, and laid down, sprawling over the two boys. My head rested in Kili's lap, and my legs were crossed over Fili's. They laughed. Kili's fingers combed through my hair gently. I sighed, closing my eyes. My eyes started to drop closed.

"The most difficult decision in the world; sleep... or eat?" I asked to the boys, my voice not as articulate as usual from tiredness. They laughed with me, and answered together.

"Eat then sleep." I nodded, satisfied with that answer. My eyes closed, and I started to doze. Everything was almost perfect. We were in Erebor, our homeland reclaimed. I was betrothed to Kili, and we were back with our family. The only thing missing was Thorin, but some things just happen. I just hoped he snapped out of it.

"Iridian. Dinner." A voice roused me from my thoughts. I stood up, and stretched lazily, purposely getting my hands in Kili's face. He laughed, and trapped my arms, kissing my cheek gently. I couldn't help the small snigger that followed his. We stood, making for the fire that smelled amazing. My mouth watered at the prospect. Kili wrapped his arms around my waist, nuzzling my neck gently. He stepped away, and I accepted the food without hesitation. We sat back in our little cluster, and I wolfed down the rations.

"Slow down. It's very unbecoming to have bad table manners." Kili joked.

"Says you!" I shouted incredulously. The company roared in laughter. I set down the bone that meat was on. Kili looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes, and I fell into his orbs. His lips quirked in a smirk, and I blushed, realizing I had been staring. Again the company broke into loud cackling.

"Young love. It's quite refreshing in a time like this." Balin shook his head. Kili pulled me to him, and I rested my head against his shoulder. His hand reached over to play with the braid in my hair, twirling it in his fingers. I had missed the company. Part of me wishes we were still at the beginning of the journey, where we only had to reach the mountain. Now we had to worry about whatever else was headed our way.

Azog was still out there. Thranduil no doubt wanted his revenge. And what of Bard and the Lakemen? Tilda, Sigrid. Tauriel. The thoughts whirled around in my head. It made the company disappear from my sight almost. It was the same question, the same concerns. What was Azog planning? Why wasn't he hunting them directly? What was going to happen with Thranduil? He wanted those jewels, and we had escaped. What was it Bilbo was hiding? And Thorin.

Those questions were all unanswered, and that made me dwell more. I wanted to know, and I was trying to find some form of logical answer. But every time I tried, my mind would go blank. I couldn't think of any answer that made sense. I shook my head lightly, mildly frustrated. I finally came back to reality, staring at the curious faces of the company.

"Sorry about that." I murmured. They all smiled sympathetically. They were used to it at this point. Kili glanced at me, questions in his eyes. I conveyed we'd continue the conversation later.

"What's on your mind?" Dori asked, being his usual worrywart self.

"Just... everything." I answered in short. Something told me they were thinking similar things. The sun had set long ago, and I could tell the company wanted to get some sleep.

"We should get some rest. Only the gods know when Thorin will come and get us tomorrow." Balin said, making his way toward his bed roll. Everyone started to do the same, but I remained kind of awake. I wanted to speak to Kili, and I had a bead to put in his hair.