The journey was difficult to say the least. Trust was not idly given, and earning it seemed near impossible. Legolas had almost warmed up to me, but Tauriel seemed adamant. Something wasn't right. I saw that she was capable of kindness, she happily shared it with Legolas, but I was not met with anything other than empty stares and thinly veiled distaste.

I could see so much emotion in her eyes. Something must have happened. She wasn't cold, simply impassive; as a guard probably should have been. She had her own plans, it was just a case of finding out the full extent of them. Who was missing from her big picture?

We were so close to our destination. Along the way, it seemed as though we were making no progress as we rode on but that soon changed. We were now only one hundred or so paces from the bridge.

As the sun fell behind the trees, we arrived at the bridge. I scanned my surroundings. There was no sign of disturbance as of yet, but I already knew that we weren't the first to arrive. We would have to be vigilant, one lapse in concentration and the advantage we held would mean nothing. They didn't know we were here; we should probably keep it that way.

"na- dínen sui lle thîr," Legolas warned, "egor lle innas anna- lye de"

{"Be silent as you search, or you will give us away"

"Am I not staying by your side?" I was surprised by the sudden abundance of trust that had been thrust upon me.

"yes," Legolas answered shortly "you have proven yourself."

He seemed distracted; like he needed to do something urgently, so I chose not to pry. This spontaneous freedom wasn't for my benefit, it seemed.

I felt Tauriel's wary eyes on my back as I left to search for the dwarves.

Laketown was like nothing I had ever seen. The entire town was over the water, I would imagine on stilts, but how did they maintain them? Water rots wood which would mean that this town would be in constant need of upkeep. However, as I looked around me, it looked as though everything had been severely neglected. Interesting. But the bright light of wonder in my heart flickered and dimmed.

I paused mid-step, it wasn't the most ideal of times to contemplate, but I simply couldn't hold my own mind back. I had been willingly distracted by my journey. So distracted, that I had almost forgotten about my ruminations of what Lord Elrond had said to me. The last time I had thought about it was in my cell in the depths of Mirkwood.

I was no closer to uncovering my heritage. I used to think it didn't matter. But after seeing the dwarves, finally seeing with my own eyes what belonging meant, I realised belonging mattered at the very least, and perhaps this would console my newly discovered loneliness.

It was decided. The sooner I located my dwarves, the sooner I could fulfil Gandalf's wishes, and the sooner I could search for my past before pasts.

I cleared ventured further into the town. There was no sign of the dwarven party anywhere. Most of the houses had doused their candles. There was no sound, spare the water lapping up the edges of the wooden stilts that this town stood on. A foul smell hung in the air, pungent and salty, but I didn't recognise it.

The orcs had yet to make their location known, something was wrong. I had to find those dwarves quickly before they got Bilbo killed.

I stilled myself and tried to concentrate. Perhaps I would be able to hear them. I squeezed my eyes shut and slowed my breathing. Nothing. My nervous heartbeats were too audible. Taking deeper, more steady breaths to try to calm my quarrelling heart. This time I could hear laughter. In the distance, a light was shining from behind a large crooked house. A party of sorts? It didn't sound like the voices I was searching for.

Suddenly I was shoved roughly to one side. I saw no one around, I scanned my eyeline but there was no one to be seen. Then I heard a distressed voice.

"Na." he turned from the window ledge that he was inspecting and met my eyes.

Bofur.

His eyes widened, but he couldn't form the words echoing in his mind.

"Na kargol." He called as he ran off into a winding alleyway. I had no one to translate for me this time.

Despite my best effort, keeping up with him was like trying to chase a single sardine through an ocean full of seaweed and towering rocks. I was out of my depth. I couldn't get my bearings, every other turn I took was either a dead end or a vast expanse of water. Before I could stop myself, I had gotten lost. Houses loomed over me and the air felt close, my breathing quickened. I wasn't just lost in Laketown, I was lost in this world. And I was no closer to finding myself than I was finding these silly Dwarves.

I caught my breath and started to think logically. I needed to catch my bearings. I couldn't see anything from here. I had to find a vantage point. I looked up. I had to climb up to the rooftops.

I raised my foot to the first window ledge, as I transferred my weight to it, it creaked. Dust and small pieces of wood cascaded from where I had placed my foot. This was going to be a dangerous affair. I had not been raised the same way as my kin. I didn't carry my weight gracefully, I had no knowledge of where to put my feet when climbing, I didn't even behave in the same way. The only thing I had in common was that my ears were pointed. Even my elvish was barely passable.

Never mind, I just had to be smart. I looked across to the eve of the door. That seemed sturdier. I lowered my leg from the window ledge and approached the front door. Of course; it was too high to reach without jumping. So, I jumped; catching it under my fingers and heaving myself up with great difficulty until I was perched on the next level of the house. I looked around for another window ledge but to no avail. However, a beam of wood caught my eye. It was jutting out from the structure, perfect for a foothold. The wood didn't look too aged either. I shuffled over broken tiles and slate, dust floating down onto the water swelled floor below, until I reached the wooden beam. Directly above it was a metal hook, the remanence of a lamp. I hoisted my leg up onto the wooden beam and attempted to catch the hook as I sprang up from the beam. I the metal was cold and rusted, serrated even. It scratched my hand as I heaved myself upwards. I bent my leg and dug my foot into a crevice in the wall and used all my strength to straighten it again. The roof was so close now; water dripped onto my face from the melting snow. Now was certainly no time to fall. My hands buzzed with adrenaline. I stretched my hand up as far as I could to reach the roof. I could reach, but no purchase could be found. I felt along the edge, forcing snow to tumble down onto my face, and with a shake of my head, I was free of the icy white blindfold. I felt along the ledge once more. With a sigh of relief, my fingers sank into a depression in a broken tile. I dug my foot into the next crevice in the wall and scaled the decrepit house to the summit. I hoisted myself over the edge of the rooftop and laid still on my back, leaving an arm to dangle over the edge. It seemed I was also not as acrobatic as the rest of my Kin.

Allowing myself to catch a breath, I found myself once more in the centre of the vast maze of rotten wood and broken stone. I hear the hollow clunk of stone across the water from me. I scanned the origin of the sound. Nothing. Then there was another clunk, this time to the east. I moved faster, determined to see what was making that noise. Could it be my Dwarves? Still nothing. Then in the distance, stood a figure on a chimney. I squinted my eyes to try to distinguish them. They started to turn. They were dressed darkly, with long black hair, my eyes lit up; Thorin.

"Tho-" A hand slammed over my mouth before I could get the words out. Then I was wrenched backwards and down behind a window, jutting out from the crooked rooftop.