This is my first "Hobbit" fic and my goal here is to write a story that could fit in with the canon works. Appearance-wise I imagine everything to be like how it was portrayed in the movies but the timeline here is in accordance with the books (dates, ages, etc.). I also included Thror's Dragon Sickness from the movies because I thought it was a good piece of drama and important to the character and development of Thorin.

I will be going through and editing each chapter before I continue. At the end of each chapter I will put the date of when it was last edited. As of 10/25/2014 this story is still going on! Thanks for sticking with it!

I own nothing except the original characters that come from my sleep-deprived little mind.

Enjoy!

"Hold still!"

"Are you done yet?"

"If you would just hold still I could be done much quicker!" said the older of the two with a laugh.

"I'm sorry Adela." The little dwarfling muttered while trying not to squirm in her seat.

"I know you want to see yourself in the looking glass," Adela said with a smile while continuing to work, "but I cannot make you look as pretty as you are if you keep turning your head back and forth."

Aghna perked up at being called pretty and did her best to sit still. After a few minutes Adela stood back to observe her work.

"How do I look?" Aghna squealed happily and bounced up and down in her seat. Adela chuckled at the young girl's enthusiasm.

"Absolutely lovely, and very grown up," Adela proclaimed as she picked up a silver-framed looking glass from the table and came around the chair to hold it up in front of her little client. Aghna grabbed the mirror and eagerly looked at her reflection.

Adela was always proud of her work, and this occasion was no different. Aghna's mother had purchased several new beads to celebrate her daughter's tenth birthday and had insisted that Adela weave them into her hair right away. The design of the braids was intricate, with two braids starting at the top of her head and continuing to the left down her back while another braid began on the left side of Aghna's head and joined the other two past her shoulders. On the right side there was another braid which began right below the dwarfling's ear. This braid was simple but it had the five beads woven into it, their silver and emerald colors contrasting beautifully with Aghna's long, dark brown hair.

Adela let the girl admire herself for a bit while she mused to herself. The completion of the first decade of a dwarf's life, or "Aging" as it was called, was always happily celebrated, as it marked the ending of childhood and the beginning of a young dwarf's life as a true member of society. Upon reaching this age a dwarf must begin learning and mastering a skill of their choosing whether it be fighting, healing, smithing or any of the others. A dwarf in their tenth year of life also receives their first beads which is always a very exciting moment. Adela could not blame Aghna for being as restless as she had been while the ritual was being completed. She only wished that she herself could have felt the same excitement when her mother put her beads into her hair at the end of her Aging, beads she still wore to this day, even though she got them almost fifty years ago. Unfortunately, Adela's and her family's celebration that day was marred by an accident from the day before. An accident which was the reason the two beads in Adela's hair came from her two uncles instead of being shiny and new and just for her.

A small frown invaded Adela's face at this thought. There was no need to dwell on sad things of the past. She shook her head slightly and focused her attention back at the little girl before her.

"Do you like it?" She asked Aghna.

"I look so pretty!"

"Yes you do my love," Aghna's mother said as she approached the two. She had been wandering the marketplace near Adela's stall after purchasing the beads, waiting for her Adela to complete her work. Aghna leaped off the chair and ran to her mother's side, spinning and showing off her hair and beads.

"You have done wonderfully Adela, as usual," the proud mother said, handing Adela a few coins then looking down to further inspect her daughter.

"Thank you, my lady," Adela said with a smile and a small bow of the head. "And happy birthday to you, my love," she said to Aghna, bringing herself down to the girl's level and hugging her. "You will be the prettiest dwarf in all of Erebor today." Aghna returned the hug enthusiastically and with a giggle and a wave walked off with her mother, no doubt to continue the day's celebration.

Adela watched them walk away for a moment before she returned to her stall. She deposited the coins in the strongbox behind the counter just as her father came into view across the marketplace, walking towards her in his usual slow pace, greeting almost everyone he walked by and stopping a number of times to have conversations with other dwarves. Morvin was a large dwarf, taller than most with very broad shoulders, huge hands, a wild mane of coppery brown hair and a long beard of the same color which could never be tamed, no matter how hard Adela or her mother tried. Yet despite his slightly unruly and burly appearance he always had an air of ease, calm and tranquility about him which is why almost everyone found it so easy to like and befriend him.

When he finally reached their stall after taking his time talking and strolling, she greeted him with a smile and he returned her greeting by pinching her cheek lightly.

"Did you buy all the materials you were looking for? The steel and the gold?"

"Yes I did. You finished with Aghna?"

"Yes. She and her mother left just moments ago."

"She gave you extra coins for the braids, didn't she?"

"She always does."

Morvin patted his daughter lightly on the shoulder then went into the room that provided the back wall of their stall. Some stalls at the market were not permanent, being built up and taken down as needed by merchants passing through or dwarves selling goods temporarily. But other stalls, like those belonging to families who have been in business for many years, were built into the mountain. Morvin Silverhand's stall was one of this kind. It spread over a large area with a forge, a workbench, and anvil and a grindstone spread about it. Weapons and armor of his making hung from the stone wall and were also displayed on the stone counter. The room carved out of the mountain stone was of good size and housed Morvin's desk which was always covered with letters, books and parchment, as well as a safe, a bookshelf, a table and some chairs and a pantry which was never allowed to go empty. After all, a dwarf who works all day must eat.

The room was also home to Adela's small worktable, where she kept all her drawings and sketches. Her father might be the one who forged the weapons, armor, beads and jewelry they sold, but Adela was the one who designed them. She was also the one who plaited the beads into customers' hair and beards, a skill which she discovered she had not long after discovering her talent for art and drawing. Her beads and jewelry were always thought to be beautiful and unique by those who purchased them and the always fetched a good price, so she offered the service of putting them in dwarves' hair for free, though most customers always gave her a little something extra, like Aghna's mother did.

As her father sat at his desk looking over some papers Adela went to her own table and looked through her most recent drawings. She liked this time a work with her father, when there was no customers in need of assistance and they could just sit quietly and do their work without interruption. This did not happen frequently as someone was always looking to purchase her father's wares, so Adela savored these moments whenever they did occur.

After a few minutes of silence her father spoke.

"Was it difficult braiding Aghna's hair? Did you fell well?"

"No and yes," she said shortly without looking up from her work.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes father. Just because my Aging was not a happy one it does not mean that the rest of them must be sad as well. You ask me this every time I braid a dwarfling's hair for the occasion." Adela tried to speak casually and keep the slight bite she felt out of her voice.

"I know. But I will not apologize. You are my daughter and I care about your wellbeing."

"I do appreciate that father, but we cannot change what happened." Adela finally looked up to see her father watching her with concern in his eyes. She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "It was fifty years ago. Yes, what happened to uncle Meurig and uncle Garan was tragic, but we have moved on, as sad and as difficult as it was to do." When the look on her father's face did not alter Adela stood and walked over to kneel before Morvin and take his hands in hers. "Mining accidents happen. Unfortunately they are part of the lives of dwarves and that particular one just happened to take place the day before my birthday." She then grasped the long braid which had her uncles' two Aging beads at the end of it and held it up for her father to see. "They are always with us. We will never forget them. You and mother both lost brothers that day but you have not forgotten then after all this time. And neither will I."

Morvin continued to look at his daughter's face. From a young age she was always strong, always resilient. She could hide her emotions well when she wanted to, which was often since she never wanted to appear weak or vulnerable. It has been a long time since she lost her uncles but he would never forget her young, tear-streaked face when she learned they were gone. That was the last time he ever saw her cry and hoped he never had to see it again.

Morvin let out a deep sigh and kissed the top of his daughter's head. There was no use trying to battle with her on this subject. Adela smiled again at him and moved to return to her table.

Before she could, however, a loud commotion could be heard outside and with a quick glance at each other she and her father went out to their stall to see what was happening.

When they first looked at the bustling crowd they could not discern why everyone was crowding around one of the entrances to the large square of the market, but after a few moments the Royal Guard made their way through the large mass of dwarves gathering and began to make a path. If the Royal Guard was there that could only mean...

A horn sounded from somewhere in the distance as Prince Thrain and his son Prince Thorin entered the marketplace. Merchants frantically went about organizing their goods and displays before the royals got near their stalls while the dwarves who had earlier been milling about and browsing tried to find the best spot in which to stand and observe this spectacle, for the princes rarely ventured into this part of the mountain with no warning and without a specific reason, and as the day was of no importance according to the calendar and no announcement had been made previously that the princes would come, the dwarves of Erebor were all exceedingly curious as to what the causes behind this visit were.

When he saw the princes, Morvin began moving around his stall quickly, making sure everything was organized and its proper place, which it was because Adela constantly kept her father's merchandise in order. As there was not much for him to do he was done quickly and motioned for Adela to stand in front of the counter along with him to await the princes' approach.

Adela, who had not yet moved from the doorway, let out a huff as she went to stand by her father. She did not know much about the royal family, especially the youngest prince, and she did not care to know more. As long as they kept Erebor safe and prosperous she would be happy. She found all of the pageantry and circumstance surrounding them annoying and from the few times she had seen them from a short distance she could not help but be put off by the self-importance that radiated from them, especially Prince Thorin. Yes, they were from the Line of Durin, but that was not an excuse for conceit. She was also annoyed by the way other dwarves cheered and yelled to get the princes' attention, especially the other female dwarves around her age. They way they looked at Thorin was comical and a bit pathetic, as if he was made of gold and gems.

Adela did not focus on the pair of princes as they walked through the square. They stopped here and there to look at some goods and items and talk briefly to shopkeepers and other citizens. Adela could feel her father tense slightly as Thorin and Thrain got closer.

"They are just visiting the people father. It is all for appearance's sake. They are not here to pass judgment on your skill."

"I know lass, I know. But I still want to make a good impression."

Adela chuckled quietly. That was very much her father; always wanting to please and impress.

When the princes were only a couple of stalls away from their own, Adela could not help but look at them more closely, the eldest of the two being the first once to catch her eye.

Thrain's appearance had not changed as long as she could remember. He wore a patch covering his left eye and his dark grey hair and beard were is disarray even though he was a prince. He wore a dark burgundy tunic and coat with a brown fur pelt on his shoulders and heavy boots on his feet. An ornate ax hung at his hip.

When Adela looked at Thorin, however, her eyes lingered for longer.

He wore apparel similar to his father's but of different color. His tunic was blue and there was a large silver belt at his hips. His boots were also silver and the fur pelt he wore on his wide shoulders was black. He had a sword at left side with his hand resting on the hilt. Half of his dark hair was pulled back from his face and held by a clasp at the back of his head, and there were two braids on either side of his face but with beads bearing the mark of Durin at their ends. The end of his beard was also braided and held together by a bead. His face did not hold much resemblance to his father's. His nose was long and sharp where as Thrain's was shorter and stubbier. His jaw was strong as well as his cheekbones and forehead. From their distance Adela could not make out the color of his eyes. He was tall for a dwarf, taller than her father, and even though he wore his thick royal finery Adela could tell that he was well-built.

She had never paid such close attention to his appearance before and it bothered her a bit that she found him to be very handsome. In her mind she had painted him as someone she would very likely dislike if they were ever to formally meet and she was too stubborn to change that opinion of him. Yet as they as they finally neared the place where she and her father were standing she could not help stealing a few more long looks at him.

When Thrain and Thorin looked in the Silverhands' direction and finally came to look over their stall, Morvin straightened his posture and Adela lowered her eyes.

"Your Highnesses," Adela and Morvin said in unison as the father bowed and his daughter curtseyed.

"Good day. What is your name citizen?" Thrain asked.

"Morvin Silverhand, your highness. And this is my daughter Adela."

"These are fine weapons. You made them all?" Thrain casually continued his line of questioning as he looked at Morvin's swords and axes.

"Yes I did," Morvin declared proudly. "Adela creates the designs for everything you see here and I smith it." While explaining this the dwarf put his large hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"Impressive. What do you think Thorin?" asked the older prince.

Adela moved her gaze from the father to the son and was not surprised by what she saw. Whereas Thrain had been polite and appreciative of the craftsmanship before him, Thorin looked unimpressed. He barely glanced at each piece he went by and did not stop to pick one up and study it like his father did.

This, Adela thought, is why I do not like royalty. Prince Thrain at least appears to care somewhat but Prince Thorin... he thinks nothing of our labor.

"They look well enough," he said briefly.

"They also fight well," Adela announced. If she could she would have said this much more harshly than she did, but she did not want to upset her father or embarrass him in front of the princes. So instead she kept her voice quiet and laced it with honey, making it seem like she was proudly supporting her father's work instead of snapping a retort back at Prince Thorin. Adela knew well how to use words to her advantage; her mother always said she should have been called silver-tongue as well as Silverhand.

Prince Thrain smiled at the comment as Adela had intended and with a small nod of his head continued to the next merchant. Prince Thorin, however, looked sharply at Adela and she returned the look with equal strength.

Thorin had noticed the pretty dwarf earlier but did not give her much thought; there were other pretty dwarf maidens in Erebor. When he stopped to look at her father's weapons he admitted to himself that they did looked very well made, but their shape and design were not like those he was used to seeing. Most Dwarven weapons had sharp lines and angles, and any embellishment on them was of a similar style. The Silverhands' weapons, however, had more curves and the decorations and carvings on them were more circular and rounded, something Thorin did not like very much, which is why he did not praise them as his father did.

But when the female dwarf- Adela, was it?- made her comment he heard something in her voice, something defensive that his father had missed. No doubt she was proud of her designed and disliked that Thorin did not mirror Thrain's admiration. When Thorin's eyes met hers he could see her annoyance towards him within them and his lip twitched into a small smirk. He also took this moment to fully take in her appearance.

She was of average height for a female dwarf but of slightly smaller build, which differed greatly from her father. She had long, wavy dark brown hair that fell to her waist and Thorin noticed a braid on her right side with two beads at the end. She wore a simple dark green working dress which was loose around her figure so he could not make it out too well, but he did note that her dress was slightly tight at her chest. Her skin was fair but not overly so, and her green eyes were set prettily on her face which was less round than the faces of most dwarves. She had a small nose and her cheeks and lips were tinted red.

Thorin then noticed something he was surprised he did not notice earlier. She had no beard. Her face was clean and smooth which caused Thorin to linger on her face. Every once in a while a female dwarf grew older without developing a beard, but it was not a common sight. Thorin could not decided if this detracted from her beauty or added to it, and with that thought he decided to move on with his father. He had stayed at this one stall too long and had conflicting emotions about the weapons and people he found there.

Adela stood still and strong while the prince looked up and down her form and she noticed the look of surprise cross his features when he landed on her face.

The lack of beard no doubt, she guessed and resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

She was glad when he began to move away but almost let out a loud, exasperated sigh when he turned back to look at something. She was, however, taken aback when what he went to look at were the beads.

Thorin had not noticed these before and for some reason had an urge to look at them. Some were made of gold but most were of silver, all in different shapes and sizes and with different carvings and gems on them. There was one in particular which caught his eye, a large silver bead with small sapphire chips wrapped around it in a zigzag fashion, resembling a mountain range. He picked it up with his large fingers and held it close to his face.

When he picked up the bead Adela was at first stunned that Prince Thorin was so interested in one of her pieces but then smugness overcame her and she crossed her arms across her chest and let out a small snort.

Upon hearing her reaction Thorin quickly looked up, saw her self-satisfied smile, put the bead down quickly and went after his father, but not before he quickly glanced back at Adela whose smile was still in place.

Thank Mahal, both thought as the distance between the two of them grew. What an arrogant, irritating dwarf!

Edited 10/25/2014