Welcome back my lovely readers! This is part 2 of "Forgotten Soul". We'll continue with Desolation of Smaug.

I hope you are still interested what will happen with Thorin, Lili, Sheera and the rest! Be prepared for lots of thrill, drama and action.

Have fun!

Several hours had past since Sheera had informed them about Lili's severe condition. Sigrid had offered them her bed to give Lili some comfortable place to rest. She prepared warm tea and placed the tray on the bedside table.

"I know it's not much, but maybe tea helps?" she said and cast a hopeful glance at the half elf girl sitting beside the bed together with Thorin. Sheera looked up at the young girl and smiled lightly.

"Thank you. It's good to see that you want to help."

Sigrid nodded and left them alone again. Once the door was closed, Thorin looked at the elf. "How long? How long will it take until-"

"I cannot say, Thorin. Maybe hours? Maybe days? Even weeks. But one thing's for certain—if she doesn't get proper help from someone with more healing skills than mine—she will not get better."

He looked down at Lili's pale face and stroked gently over her forehead. Her eyes were closed and it seemed she was in some sort of coma. "Do you think she feels that I am with her?" he whispered, his voice on the edge of breaking.

"I'm certain she does. Shall I leave you alone for a while?" she asked and watched him carefully. He didn't reply, but she knew he would prefer to be alone with his love and so she quietly got up and left the room silently. She sighed and went to the kitchen where she found the rest of the company sitting around the wooden table in the middle of the room. They all had cups of steaming hot tea in front of them. Bofur shifted a bit to give her space to sit. She smiled lightly at him and lowered down between Dori and him. He poured her a cup and handed it to her. Sheera took it and brushed the tips of her fingers against his for a second as a sign of thankfulness and to show him that she really needed his comfort.

"I might not be a healer, but isn't it possible that there's a connection between Lili's sudden sickness and the fact that her father is still alive?" Gloin suddenly said and looked among each of them. "I mean—they are both alive for a very very long time. At least, their souls. That is if I got that right. They both have souls that are many thousand years old. They aren't even supposed to be still alive. Don't get me wrong, but maybe Lili has to die—so does her father—to be reborn or something."

"That is nonsense. The only one who has to die here is her father for what he had done to her mother," Dwalin grumbled.

"And yet, if he hadn't forced himself on her mother, Lili wouldn't even exist. There has to be more behind all that," Gloin insisted and emptied his cup of tea without giving a thought of the scalding hotness of the liquid. He hissed and covered his mouth which cause some of them to chuckle lightly. None of them knew what to say to his assumptions and so they fell silent again for a little while. That was when Kili suddenly hissed in pain again.

"Kili—"his brother watched him concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine. Don't worry about me," Kili replied but his face was still a grimace of pain just like earlier that day. Sheera got up and surrounded the table.

"Let me see the wound," she said and took a knife to cut the fabric of his trouser, but Kili shifted a bit.

"No, it's really fine. I don't need anything. It'll be better soon."

"Kili, she could help you ease the pain," Fili insisted and looked up at her. She nodded lightly and added,

"You don't have to play the brave and bite down your pain just because of Lili."

The young prince looked up at her. She saw that she had hit the right nerve. She knelt down in front of him and placed her hand comfortingly on his knee. "You want to go and see the mountain with your own eyes, don't you?"

He nodded silently with a light twinkle in his eyes. "I don't want to concern Thorin more than he already is," he admitted and bit on his lip to ease the pain in his leg. Fili sighed heavily and placed his hand on the back of his young brother's head. "Stop this nonsense now, Kee. Let her help you. Imagine what would happen if we reach the mountain and you cannot enjoy all its glory because the pain in your leg numbs your senses. Please, do it for me—do it for mother."

That seemed to stir the young one's feelings. He groaned in pain again and signaled Sheera to help him. "P-please—it's really hurting a lot."

Unbeknownst of the events in the kitchen, Thorin was still sitting next to the bed, holding Lili's hand. Billy lay curled up on the girl's stomach, heaving up and down with every shallow breath of her.

The dwarf king closed his eyes to prevent the tears from falling. He pressed his lips against her fingers and started praying silently. The fear and sorrow in his heart ached massively upon the thought of not only losing the love of his life but also their child which was already growing inside her. For how long? He sighed heavily and looked up when suddenly he felt her fingers twitch lightly.

"Thorin—" her voice was quiet and soft. He smiled relieved and reached for her face, gently caressed her cheek.

"I'm here, my love. I'm with you-"

Slowly she turned her head and smiled lightly. "You—you shouldn't be here—" she breathed and squeezed his hand a little. He frowned and watched her confused, uncertain if she realized what she was saying or if this was some fever-talk. He shook his head and kissed her fingers once more.

"Where else should I be? Where else but with you and our baby?" he asked carefully.

"Erebor—"

He sighed heavily and cast a glance towards the window from where he could see the dwarven windlance. Yes, he should be on his way to Erebor. Durin's Day was drawing nearer and nearer. He had to reach the mountain before that day would pass. It was the only way to enter that mountain unseen by the dragon. That is, if the dragon was still inside the mountain or alive at all. He looked back at her and shook his head.

"I cannot just leave you alone here," he protested. "How can I reclaim my kingdom without you by my side?"

She chuckled weakly and coughed a bit before she looked up at him again with her emerald eyes that were not as bright as before. He saw that she was ill. Her eyes were clouded a little—just like his grandfather's had been the more he slipped into the gold sickness. He watched her expectantly.

"Before—before I came along your company—you would've reclaimed it no matter of my existence. And—and you can still do it now. Thorin—don't let me be the reason if this mission fails."

A tear rolled down her cheek. Quickly he bent over and kissed it away softly. "I would never blame you-"

"Go—Thorin, you have to go. Do it for me. For our child. For Kili and Fili and the company. You came so far—this quest cannot be over, yet. Not because of me. Take the helm—"

"Lili—the helm is gone, remember? Thranduil still has it. As well as your bow and your sword. And my sword. We have only the weapons the master of this town gave us."

She closed her eyes for a moment and Thorin already feared this conversation had weakened her body too much, but finally she opened them again and found the last bit of determination.

"Thorin Oakenshield—I want that you leave me in Laketown. Take the company and get that mountain back. So our child can have a proper home," she smiled. Thorin still hadn't found the guts to tell her that she might not even survive to see Erebor come back to life. Nor would their child. For a moment he thought about to tell her—but he quickly pushed that thought aside. Taking all hope from her would only make things worse. And so he leaned in closer and kissed her tenderly once more.

"I promise you. I promise that I will come back and get you and Billy and our little prince. Will you promise me to wait?"

She reached up for his face and gently stroked his soft beard. She smiled lovingly at him before she replied,

"I've waited thousands of years for you, Thorin Oakenshield. And I would wait another thousand for you to return."

I hope you enjoyed the start of part 2!

Next chapter we'll leave Laketown (well—most of us). Stay tuned!

And like always I'd love to hear what you think! So don't hesitate to leave a review :)