Everyone looked on in silence after the door was opened, awestruck and amazed that they had, in fact, made it this far.

"Erebor." Thorin said softly.

"Thorin?" Balin began welling up with tears. He grew up in the mountain, this was his home. And they were finally there again after one hundred and seventy years. Thorin placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and stepped inside.

"I know these walls, these halls, this stone." His voice held so much emotion, making Agarwaen's heart ache for them. She backed up even further and sat down on a rock, knowing that this moment was not hers to share.

"Do you remember it, Balin? Chambers filled with golden light?"

"I remember." Balin replied, following Thorin in. Everyone else fell in line behind him, and walked in one at a time.

Agarwaen smiled, glad that the dwarves were finally home despite the hollow feeling in her chest. She sat there, looking out at the starry night sky, wondering what would happen now. She'd promised Bilbo she'd take him home, but his contract wasn't up yet. He still had a job to do. Maybe she should return to Laketown now? The dragon still slept, so maybe there was some time to prepare laketown for the latter half of the prophecy or evacuate it. After a few more minutes, she heard footsteps leaving the mountain door.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" Thorin asked.

"I...this is your home, Thorin. One of the seven dwarven kingdoms, and I am an elf. It would be intrusive and I do not feel that it would be...right...for me to walk your halls." Thorin sat down beside her.

"It would be anything but intrusive. We could not have done this without you. You are a member of the company."

"Not anymore." She shook her head. "My contract is complete, my purpose on this journey fulfilled. You don't need me anymore."

"It's not about needing you." He looked up at her. "It's about wanting you with us. You are more than just our guide. You are our friend, you're like family. The first elf in all of history that I am willing to call kin." Agarwaen stood up abruptly.

"Don't...don't call me your kin. I am undeserving of that title."

"Agar, you've been with us through thick and thin, never failing, never wavering. Your loyalty and honor are that of the greatest I've ever known." She clenched her jaw to try and keep herself from tearing up.

"You may think so, but what about every other dwarf from the blue mountains to the iron hills? You are a king now, Thorin. You will have an image to uphold, and calling an elf kin will put that in jeopardy."

"Your friendship is worth more than my image. Everyone else here will agree with me." He stood up, and took her hands in his. "Once this is over, once we've fully reclaimed Erebor, I want to extend an invitation to you. An invitation to stay for as long as you like, and be rewarded for your bravery, honor, and friendship to dwarrowkind." She couldn't help her mouth dropping open at his statement. Did he even know what he was saying?"

"I agree." Dwalin stepped out of the door, followed by the other dwarves except for Balin and Bilbo. Thorin dropped her hands. "You've come all this way with us, I wouldn't dream of leaving you on the doorstep. Not to mention you haven't even been paid yet."

"I care not for treasures." She shook her head. "I am a wanderer. I have no use for excessive jewels or sacks of gold."

"Then what can we give you?" Thorin asked.

"Your companionship and this whole venture has been plenty. I could never have asked for anything more." Thorin was clearly unsatisfied with her answer. One of the only ways dwarves knew how to express extreme gratitude was through riches, so her denying such things was strange to them. "Please, accept my denial of treasures." The dwarf king nodded, and stepped back.

"At least stay by our sides for a little while longer. And know that you are more than welcome in Erebor."

"Thank you. This adventure...all of you...it's all I never knew that I wanted."

"Which makes you the elf we never knew we needed." Dwalin smiled.

"You all are going to make me cry." She complained. "Stop it." Thorin chuckled.

"The world has been unkind to you. The least we can do is repay the kindness you've shown us." He smiled, and everyone turned when they heard Balin come back.

"The courage of hobbits never ceases to amaze me." The old dwarf said as he finally came back out. "He's down there. In the treasure horde."

"Looking for the Arkenstone?" Agarwaen asked.

"Yes. Once we have it, I can unite all the dwarven kingdoms and we can officially kill this dragon and the mountain will be ours once more." Thorin nodded.

"All I know about it is that it's said to be the heart of the mountain."

"It's the most beautiful gem you could ever lay your eyes on. It shines with the brightness of a thousand stars and is purer than the clearest of diamonds." His voice deepened slightly as he talked about this gem, and she thought she saw his eyes change slightly, but ruled it out as just her imagination. "You will see it once Bilbo returns."

They waited out on the ledge for quite some time, telling Agarwaen various things about Erebor and the treasures within. She desperately hoped that they would decide to return the white gems of Lasgalen to Thranduil. The dwarves did cheat the elvenking to begin with, and they were his gems. Not to mention, she didn't doubt that Thranduil would send an armed force to recover them if he had the chance.

Balin had begun telling her of the great libraries the mountain held. They were far from the treasure room, so likely untouched by Smaug's fire, and she did have to admit that part did sound rather interesting to her.

"There are records and scrolls there that were written when Erebor was being built. There's—" the ground shaking beneath them cut Balin off.

"Was that an earthquake?" Dwalin asked.

"That, my lad, was a dragon." Balin stood up and looked toward the door.

"Bilbo..." Agarwaen muttered, fearful for the hobbits' life. He was smart and brave, but...against a dragon? She took a step toward the door.

"I know what you're thinking, and the answer is no." Thorin stopped her.

"We have to do something." She insisted when an orange glow came from inside the mountain.

"What can we do against a dragon?"

"Get him out of there at least."

"Just give him more time."

"Time to do what?" Balin asked. "To be killed?"

"You're afraid." Thorin said, using that odd tone of voice again.

"Yes. I'm afraid." Balin replied bluntly. "I fear for you. A sickness lies upon that treasure. A sickness that drove your grandfather mad." Agarwaen had heard tales of dragon sickness, but she never really thought them to be true. Yes, there were many enchantments, but greed like dragon sickness? She thought it to be exaggerated.

"I'm not my grandfather." Thorin turned away.

"Well you're not yourself. The Thorin I know will not hesitate to go in there—"

"I will not risk this quest for the life of one...burglar." Agarwaen had heard enough. Balin said something else, but she didn't hear it because she had already run into the mountain, bow drawn and arrow notched. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew to follow the thuds. She ran down a few sets of stairs, and down a few halls, before stopping cold. There was the treasure horde. It spanned what looked like miles in every direction. And crawling atop it was a very alive and angry dragon. She ducked around the corner again, eyes wide, wondering what could possibly be done.

"Oakenshield's quest will fail." Smaug spoke. "A darkness is coming. It will spread to every corner of the land." So it was true, and the dragon knew about it. They had to succeed in taking the mountain. They just had to. "You have been used, thief in the shadows. You were only a means to an end. The coward Oakenshield has weighed the value of your life, and found it worth nothing."

"No. You're lying!" She was relieved to hear Bilbo's voice, and thought about her options. A dragon's hide could not be pierced by anything other than a black arrow. So what could she do against it?

"What did he promise you? A share of the treasure? As if it was his to give. I will not part with a single coin! Not one peice of it!" Agarwaen finally mustered the courage to poke her head around the corner. She watched as Bilbo tumbled through the air and down a mountain of gold. Following after something white. The Arkenstone.

"My teeth are swords!" Smaug crawled after him, seeming to humor the hobbit and play with how long Bilbo had left to live. "My claws are spears!" She needed to think of something fast. "My wings are a hurricane!" His eyes. They were the only part of him not covered in scales.

"What did you say?" Smaug sounded enraged at something Bilbo said that Agarwaen didn't hear. He responded with flattery, trying to buy himself time. She pulled her arrow back, stretching her bowstring as far as she could.

"I'm almost tempted to let you take it." She paused. "If only to see Oakenshield suffer. Watch it destroy him, watch it corrupt his heart and drive him mad." What if the Arkenstone only stoked the fire of whatever dragon sickness Thorin was falling prey to? They needed it to rally the dwarves, but...now that the dragon was awake, what could they do? What use would it be other than to simply unite the kingdoms once more? With the threat of war with orcs, surely the Arkenstone wasn't necessary to bring them together. Thorin couldn't get the stone. At least until they knew what to do about this sickness.

"I think our little game ends here. So tell me thief, how do you choose to die?" Smaug's belly began to glow orange as he neared Bilbo.

"Stop!" She yelled, just as Bilbo disappeared somehow as Smaug bit the air. She fired an arrow at the dragon's head, aiming for the eye, but ended up being a mere foot off. The dragon whipped his head around to look at her.

"An elf? Oakenshield really must have been desperate." Smaug sneered before blowing fire in her direction. She hid behind the wall just in time, only searing the edge of her sleeve. The fire soon turned away from her, and she looked around the smoldering stone to find him lighting the whole area around him in search of Bilbo. She was about to call his name, when something grabbed her hand and shushed her. Once around the corner again, Bilbo appeared out of thin air right before her eyes. She stared at him in disbelief.

"Bilbo?" Her tone was dark. There was little magic in the world capable of turning one invisible, and she didn't like the first thing her mind went to.

"Later." He breathed, and grabbed her hand again as they ran back up the stairs together.