The Past That Blinds (1 of 3)

After washing myself and my clothes and stitching myself up I had simply been sitting, listening, wearing my spare clothes while my others dry.
“Chase?” I hear a voice call, it brings me out of my thoughts. I stand up grabbing my things and head towards the voice. “Chase?” he calls again, once I get closer I realise it's Kili.
“I'm here Kili” I say pushing aside a small shrub.
“You've been gone a while, I thought I would come and check up on you, to see that you are alright” he explains.
“Don't worry, there's not a problem, I was just caught up in thinking, thank you” I smile
“That is a relief to hear.” he nods a little. “back on that mountain it looked like you were injured..?” he says questioningly
“It's fine, really, it's nothing to worry about, but seeing as you're so concerned you can walk me back to camp” I say slightly teasingly, with a smile.
“It would be my pleasure” he says smiling back at me.
“How is your uncle?” I ask as we start to walk back to camp
“He wouldn't admit it but he is in pain, but he does seem a lot more pleasant, he's smiling more, you've missed a few stories that Balin has told, I think everyone is getting ready for an early night now after the past few days events” he says
I give him a bit of a look without him noticing, he would actually make a good king, him and his brother are born to it, that is true, but being born to it and having a heart for it is something that is sorely lacking amongst most, especially a lot of humans. “You're a lot like your uncle, you know? When he was younger at least, don't tell him I told you, he wouldn't admit it” I chuckle.
“Oh you think so?” he asks smiling. I nod
“Charming little prince who is brave and reckless but has good intentions at heart”
“So you think I am charming do you?” he asks smirking cheekily
“Don't let it go to your head, I will never hear the end of it” I tease.
“Oh but it has already gone to my head, if you can not tell” he chuckles.
“Don't make me have to duel you again to keep it from going any further to your head, we know I would beat you” I say playfully.
“Unless we were wrestling then that may be the case, and last time you weren't wounded so this time I have an advantage” he teases
“Oh here we go, the not so charming is coming out now, I could still beat you with one arm” I laugh “You do know you're supposed to go easy on women” I say playfully.
“Maybe I will, if you start acting like a woman”
“The cheek!” I laugh “We know that's never going to happen”
“Never say never, sooner or later it will happen” he chuckle

I hear merriment coming from the camp and look ahead to see the fire through the trees. Bofur is singing and a few of the other dwarves along with him, as we get closer I see a few of them dancing around the fire and around the camp.
“Settling down to sleep?” I ask giving Kili a look, amused.
“I did say I think” he chuckles.
We walk into camp and there's a few cheers and they raise mugs and I tilt my head a little before being dragged over to the fire by Fili who is dancing, my arm stings at the sudden motion but the antiseptic paste numbs it quickly and so I join in with dancing as Kili laughs and starts clapping his hand to the beat of the song. Gandalf laughs as he smokes his pipe and when I notice Bilbo I pull him up to dance, he's a little reluctant but soon he is also dancing. Food had been cooked, a dear I think it was, Bombur is just sitting off to the side eating. I dance around the fire but bump into someone, I look automatically and see Thorin, as if he has purposely stood in the way.
He's looking at me with a plain facial expression before smiling and stepping backwards and holding his hand out. I'm a little unsure at first but then I take his hand and he starts dancing around the fire with me. A few of the others laugh but he doesn't seem to mind, he's just had a near death experience, why should he worry about his kin laughing at him while they are all enjoying themselves? Even without any ale, which is surprising.

It's getting late, a lot of the dwarves are already asleep, others are just sitting around.
I'm sitting leaning against a lone, dead tree, smiling and looking up at the stars. I can't stop thinking about Thorin dancing and smiling, he hasn't been that happy in a long time it seems.
“Chase?” I look around to see Thorin.
“Thorin?” I say a little surprised.
“I f it is alright with you, I would like to talk, we have not really spoken much since this journey began”he says “May I?” he asks motioning to the floor next to me.
I nod and shuffle to the side a little so he can lean on the tree trunk.
“There is so much to say, I do not even know where to start.” He says after sitting down. “What happened to you? You're not the same person I remember.”
I have to bite my tongue so I don't say something stupid.
“I grew up, I can't keep daydreaming forever, can I? I always wanted a more exciting life. If you remember. Well there's a human saying, 'be careful what you wish for'. I got my wish. In a way. After everything that happened... How could I just live a simple life after being helpless to defend our home? So, I trained for a few years before going out and becoming a warg hunter, I then became a mercenary, of a sort, eventually I just became a wanderer roaming from town to town, drinking, brawling...” I shrug “You only have so much get up and go, you know? I think this is more a conversation to have over a drink. We should turn in for the night, no doubt we'll have a hard days journey tomorrow” I say standing up “Goodnight Thorin” I say before walking over to my bedroll and settling down. Wiping the tears away that are threatening to escape.

(To continue reading please click the 'Sequel: Let Bygones Be Bygones' link at the top. Thank you )