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The treasure moved, with jewels and gold spilling down the mounds that it lay in as the Company shifted through the heaps of the wealth.
"Any sign of it?" Thorin yelled.
"Nothing yet." Dwalin called from the opposite side of the room.
"Nothing here." Nori echoed, a few people down from where Alenia and Kili were searching.
"Keep searching!" Thorin ordered.
"That jewel could be anywhere." Oin protested, as the clinking sound of hands moving through gold continued.
"The Arkenstone is in these halls - find it!" Thorin yelled, and Dwalin backed him with a, "You heard him - keep looking."
"All of you. No one rests until it is found."
Alenia turned to look over her shoulder to see Bilbo glance towards Thorin, and then turn away guiltily.
What did that hobbit do now? She thought, before slipping away to follow him outside; the dwarves still to focused on searching to notice.
Bilbo hurried up the steps to stand out on the rampart, where the destruction Smaug caused was incredibly evident. Mounds of fallen stone, and charred ground was littered with gouges from enormous talons. Alenia slipped into the shadows, as Bilbo turned around to see if someone was there.
Once he was sure that no one was actually there, (though he was horribly wrong), he reached into his coat and pulled out a glowing white stone.
"Bilbo!" Alenia whispered harshly, stepping out from the shadows to walk over to him. "Please tell me that's not what I think it is."
Bilbo jumped out of his seat, the stone clattering to the floor. The half-elf rushed to pick the stone up and shove it roughly back into his hands.
The hobbit's eyes were wide on his face with a hint of fear in them. A look that Alenia didn't think would ever be in them because of her.
"It is, isn't it?" She asked softly, looking down at the stone he held in his hands.
"Yes." he breathed. "You should've seen him, Alenia. He wasn't himself, even before we won the mountain back, he was insane with the want of the jewel-"
"Bilbo." Alenia hushed. "I get it. I've only been here for less than a day and I can tell that's something's wrong."
"Y-You're not going to tell Thorin?"
"Oh, sweetie, no." Alenia said, laughing softly. "In fact, I'm going to help you. We'll figure out a way to save Thorin. Together."
"Together." Bilbo repeated, before he shoved the stone back into his jacket's pocket. "Wait, but, how are we supposed to do that?"
"I think we need to talk to Balin."
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Alenia stood with Bilbo, Balin and Dwalin, facing the back of a king who was slowly being driven mad by a treasure hoard he deemed incomplete without the stone Bilbo possessed.
"It is here in these halls - I know it." Thorin said softly, staring at the throne, at the empty slot of a gem that the dwarves couldn't find. A gem that sat in a pocket of a hobbit in that very room.
"We have searched and searched." Dwalin said, before Thorin growled, "Not well enough."
"Thorin, we all would see the stone returned." Alenia said, sharing a glance with Bilbo. Just not with you in this state.
"And yet it is still not found!" Thorin yelled, whirling around to face the four of them.
"Do you doubt the loyalty of anyone here?" Balin asked, gesturing to Dwalin, Bilbo, Alenia and himself.
Thorin walked slowly towards Balin and Dwalin, as the white-haired dwarf continued, "The Arkenstone is the birthright of our people."
"It is the King's Jewel." Thorin said softly, a dangerous tone attached to the words. "AM I NOT THE KING?!"
Thorin turned away, as the four Company members exchanged uneasy glances. "Know this; if anyone should find it and withhold it from me, I will be avenged."
Alenia gestured to Bilbo to follow her, and the pair walked out of the throne room to wait for Balin to leave.
"We cannot give it to him." Alenia muttered, sitting down so she was the same height as the hobbit standing beside her.
"Under no circumstances." Bilbo agreed.
Footsteps came towards them, as Balin rushed away from the throne room.
Alenia jerked his head after him, and the half-elf and hobbit hurried after the older dwarf.
The duo halted in a dusty records room, where Balin sat at a table with his back to them, wiping his eyes and sniffling quietly.
Alenia approached, and laid a hand on his shoulder, which Balin grabbed a hold of and squeezed.
"Dragon sickness," Balin said, turning to look at the two, releasing the half-elf's hand. "I've seen it before. That look. That terrible need. It is a fierce and jealous love, you two. It sent his grandfather mad."
"Balin, if-if Thorin...had the Arkenstone..." Bilbo started, before he shook his head. Balin's eyes sharpened in understanding, before Alenia continued, "If it was found... would it help?"
"That stone crowns all. It is the summit of this great wealth, bestowing power upon he who bears it." Balin said. "Will it stay his madness? No, lass; I fear it would make it worse. Perhaps it is best that it remains lost." The dwarf's eyes conveyed a hidden meaning and the hobbit and half-elf nodded in understanding.
We definitely can't give it to him. Alenia thought as she left the room to find Kili and Fili.
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a/n:
kind of a short chapter? i'm gonna try to post another one later tonight because i wanna finish this book and start working on my sequels :))
also, we're getting closer to the battle and i'm freaking out. i've cried approximately three times trying to draft character movements and what type of shit is actually gonna go down lol
but yeah... look for another chapter later, i guess?
