All I've ever known

34

Everyone sat in the large den in a circle. Fili sat opposite of his uncle with Kili patting his shoulder. Gandalf cleared his throat,"Now Fili, what happened?" Fili kept his eyes locked onto his boots,"When we were running, and Bombur began to sprint, he bumped me over and I lost my footing and fell. I got up without checking on Mivera and began running again."

Dwalin nearly choked on nothing,"You what?" Thorin growled,"He dropped her Dwalin!" Dwalin looked back to Fili,"You dropped her?" The whole company went into an uproar and Fili struck down into himself, cringing at the shouts.

Bilbo stood up and caught everyone's attention,"Stop it!" They all looked at him and he cleared his throat,"Look, it's rather obvious how guilty he feels. It was an accident and you yelling at him isn't going to help the problem." Thorin was just about to say something when Gandalf stood as well,"I concurs with Bilbo. Though I said I was not sure Beorn will not hurt her, I have faith he won't."

Thorin bolted to his feet,"You have faith? Mere faith doesn't get things done!" Gandalf laughed,"You're starting to sound like Mivera. Be still Thorin, when Beorn returns, we can ask him if he has seen her." Thorin mumbled,"If he hasn't killed her." Gandalf ignored him and everyone dispersed.

Fili watched his uncle storm over to a large ledge by a window and lean against it. He looked down at his feet again and felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Kili smiling sadly,"I'm sure she's fine. I mean, she did prove the line of Durin was hard to break."

Bilbo looked over at them,"She's part of the line of Durin?" Kili shook his head,"Not by blood if that's what you're referencing." Bilbo furrowed his brow,"Then how is she the line of Durin?" Kili put his hands behind his head,"I figure when all of this is over, her and Thorin will, you know..." Bilbo nodded,"I see."

"She's like the sister we never had." Kili said smiling. Bilbo furrowed his brow again,"What do you mean?" Kili smiled broadly,"She never really acted like an 'authority' figure. She was always playing with Fili and I. Sometimes even helping us prank Thorin." Bilbo smiled,"She would make a great mother." Kili stayed smiling and closed his eyes,"Aye, she would."

Slowly and one by one everyone fell asleep. But not Thorin, he kept pacing and occasionally looked through the curtains. This kept Bilbo awake as well. He was about to go tell Thorin to stop when he saw Thorin's eyes as he looked out the window again. His eyebrows were curved upward, and his eyes wide. He looked like a lost puppy. Bilbo smiled sadly and just decided to roll over.

Mivera pulled her eyelids apart and looked up at the night sky, it was beautiful. She quickly furrowed her brow, wondering where she was, where the company was, where Thorin was. She went to sit up but a piercing pain shot through her body and her head began pounding.

She coughed and fell back down to the ground. She saw a very tall dark figure walk up beside her. She squinted as she began seeing double, trying to see the face. All she saw were two hands coming down towards her before she blacked out again.

When she next opened her eyes, she was in a room lit by one single candle. The dim, warm orange color illuminated the back of a tall figure. She tried to move, but her limbs felt as though they were filled with lead, the same for her head. The man turned around,"I would not do that, you suffered many internal injuries. Moving will only cause them to worsen."

Mivera blinked,"Where am I?" The man sat down beside her and filled a mug with water,"You are at my house. I am Beorn." Mivera smiled faintly,"I am-" the man ignored her and held the cup to her lips, making her drink from it. When she was finished he set the cup down on a table,"I know who you are. Mivera, Lady of Erebor. Or rather Queen."

She must have looked confused for Beorn kept talking. He motioned towards another room,"Your husband fell asleep with his cheek pressed against the window. The rest of your company threw themselves over everything."

She gave a slight giggle but winced at the pain. He reached behind a chest and handed her some berry,"Here, chew this. It will make the pain go away and help you heal faster" she smiled after he put one in her mouth,"Thank you Beorn, I don't know how I can repay you." He shook his head,"No payment required, sleep well." With that he stood up, blew out the candle, and left the room.

Thorin woke up to the scuffling of feet, large feet. His eyes opened slightly and he saw a dark figure, who he assumed was Beorn, walking towards him. He shut his eyes and pretended to still be asleep. He felt Beorn place something next to him, then heard him walking off.

Once Thorin was certain he left, he opened his eyes again. The pale moonlight showed some fabric had been placed beside him. He picked it up and saw that it was pure black, like Mivera's. He turned it over and saw her crest was on the inside on the back of the neck. He was confused, what did this mean?

He held up the cloak all the way and something fell from the folds. It tinked on the floor and caught the beams of the moon. Thorin folded her cloak neatly and set it back down on the ledge before he bent over to pick up the object.

He inhaled a sharp breath. Mivera's braided gold ring was lying on the wooden floor. Thorin picked it up and held it in his palm, he just stood there for a long while before looking up again.

He was extremely tempted to run after Beorn and ask about Mivera, but he decided against it. He would wait for the wizard. Thorin sighed and took his seat on the ledge again, looking back out at the night sky. He gripped the ring tightly in his hand and held it to his heart as he drifted back off to sleep.