Hey guys, got a new story I wanted to put up. I had this story idea from a plot bunny I had been given by Talks to Herself, although, with her permission, I have tweaked a few things from what she had planned. I hope you will all enjoy reading this, if you do like the sound of it so far, please let me know and I'll keep posting.

Chapter 1

Long ago, in a land far from our own, there once lived the large and proud mountain of Erebor, a mountain of dwarves, which was ruled by Thror, King Under the Mountain. His house was never in danger, for his line was secured with the lives of his son, Thrain and grandson, Thorin.

Just beyond the doors of Erebor, laid the human settlement of Dale, peaceful and prosperous, where all were welcomed whether they be dwarves, elves, or even maybe a stray hobbit or two. . .if given the courage.

Erebor. . .oh my dears, if only I could show you. It was a beautiful place to live, I assure you. Built deep within the mountain itself the beauty of this city was legend. Its wealth lay in the earth in precious gems hewn from rock and in great seams of gold running like rivers through stone.

The skills of we Dwarves are unequalled fashioning objects of great beauty out of diamond, emerald, ruby and sapphire.

Delving deeper into the dark, that's where it was found. The Heart of the Mountain. The Arkenstone. Thror named it "The King's Jewel." He took it as a sign, a sign that his right to rule was divine. All would pay homage to him. Even the great Elven King, Thranduil.

No one knows exactly what began the rift between our races. The Elves say we stole their treasure. The Dwarves tell another tale. They say the Elf King refused to give them their rightful pay.

"What do you say, ada?" A sixteen year old dwarfling asked.

The story teller, Vidar son of Ginar, satin his chair by the fire, his two daughters, Rose and Ruby, sat before him on the floor. Rose being sixteen and Ruby eleven (eight and five and a half in human years respectively).

Rose was the spitting image of her father, her red hair falling down her back in a long braid, a smaller braid dangling down the left side of her face with the family bead holding it in place. All her facial and body features were of a dwarf, except for her ears which were slightly pointed like her hobbit mothers, Elanor.

Sat in front of her was Ruby, who took on her mother's traits, brown hair and eyes. Unlike her sister, everything about her screamed hobbit. From her curly lcosk right down to her bare, little, fuzzy hobbit feet. Vidar managed to tame some of her curly locks into a suitable family braid, but it was much shorter than her sister's.

"What do I say, my flower? As much as I would like to say the elves cheated us in some way, I don't believe it myself."

"Why?" Ruby asked.

"Because of what happens next, my gem. The years of peace and plenty of Erebor and Dale were not to last. The days turned sour and the nights closed in. King Thror's love of gold had grown too fierce. A sickness had begun to grow within him."

"What kind of sickness?" Rose asked.

"It was a sickness of the mind. And where sickness thrives bad things will follow."

The two girls looked at each other with wide eyes before shuffling closer to their father to hear closely.

"The first we heard was a noise like a hurricane coming down from the North. The pines on the mountain creaked and cracked in the hot, dry wind. He was a fire-drake from the North. Smaug had come. Such wanton death was dealt that day. For this city of Men was nothing to Smaug. His eye was set on another prize. For dragons covet gold with a dark and fierce desire. For a dragon will guard his plunder as long as he lives."

"Did you get out okay, Ada?" Ruby asked, her voice filled with worry.

"Of course he did, Roo! He wouldn't be here otherwise!" Rose told her sister.

Vidar smiled at his daughters. "I got out safe, Ghivashels, but not okay. I lost my mother and my sister that day, both of them having been too far from the entrance to escape."

Looking at their father in despair, both girls clambered onto Vidar's lap and snuggled into him. Vidar smiled as he welcomed the comfort from his children.

"What happened then, ada?"

"Thrain petitioned to try to get help from King Thranduil, but he turned away from us. Turned away from those that had lost mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brother and sisters andwives and husbands along with their home. Left us to fend for ourselves like a pack of wild dogs. And so, led by King Thror, we were taken to where we could find labour in the villages of men. But we always remembered the mountain smoke beneath the moon the trees like torches blazing bright. For we had seen dragon fire in the sky and a city turned to ash. We never forgave and we never forgot."

The three of them sat in silence, Rose close to tears and Ruby cuddled into her father. Vidar looked to the other side of the room, where his wife, Elanor, sat sewing away as she listened to the story. Although he had told her about his past, every time she heard it, she would be filled with such grief for her husband, wishing there was something she could do to help him.

"Do you think Erebor would ever belong to dwarves again, ada?" Rose asked as she looked to Vidar.

"I do not know, my flower. Maybe one day. One day, we could look upon the home of our ancestors once more."

Rose jumped down from her father's lap, picking up her wooden sword as she did so.

"I will face the dragon for you, ada! I will take back our homeland!"

This caused Vidar to laugh, Elanor shaking her head in amusement as she stood.

"Not now you won't. It is time for bed."

Rose pouted. "Aww, but ama, we need to reclaim Erebor!"

Elanor chuckled as she took her daughters hand. "No, now you need to go to sleep. You can't reclaim Erebor when you're sleepy, can you?"

"I guess not. Can we tomorrow?"

"Haven't you forgotten Ghivashel, we're leaving to visit Aunt Bella and Uncle Bungo tomorrow." Vidar reminded her as he followed the both of them to the girl's room, Ruby tucked in his arms.

"Aww! We'll never get Erebor back!" Rose pouted.

Vidar chuckled as he gently cupped his daughter's cheek in his hand. "One day my flower, one day when you and your sister are older, you will look upon our home. This I swear. Don't be in a rush to grow up."

Rose nodded as she got into her night clothes, Elanor taking Ruby from Vidar as he tucked his eldest into her bed.

"Can you sing the song about the mountain, ada?"

Vidar smiled as he sat on the edge of her bed, Elanor doing the same with Ruby, who looked at her father expectantly.

"Of course I can, my loves."

Snuggled down under the covers, the girls listened as their father began to sing;

"Far over the Misty Mountains cold.

To dungeons deep and caverns old.

We must away ere break of day.

To find our long forgotten gold.

The pines were roaring on the height,

the winds were moaning in the night.

The fire was red, it flaming spread.

The trees like torches blazed with light."

At the end of the song, Vidar and Elanor smiled as both children were soon asleep. Kissing the girls, they blew out the candles and left, closing the door behind them. After retiring to their room, Elanor and Vidar laid cuddled in bed.

"Do you really believe you would see Erebor again?" Elanor asked her husband.

"Anything is possible, Âzyungel. Maybe not now, not in ten years or even fifty years, but one day, maybe we will see Erebor again. It would be my greatest wish to take you and the girls there."

Elanor smiled as she ran a hand across his chest. "That would be my greatest wish too. You speak as fondly of your home as I do mine. And you never know, Rose may grow up one day and reclaim Erebor."

Vidar laughed, quietly as to not wake the girls. "Aye, maybe, and with Ruby right beside her. They're never apart from each other for long."

Elanor smiled softly. "No. They're not."

With that, they settled down and slept, snuggled in each others arms.

Late that night, husband and wife were jolted awake by a pounding on the front door.

"Who in Mahal's name is that?" Vidar grumbled.

"I don't know, but answer it before they wake the girls."

Vidar got out of bed and hurried to the front door and opened it to see his friend, Borun on the other side.

"Borun! Do you have any idea how late it is!?" Vidar hissed to his friend.

"We're in danger."

Vidar froze. "What do you mean?"

"Orcs have been seen heading in this direction. . .Azog is with them."

Vidar looked to him. "Azog the Defiler? He was slain, Thorin killed him in the Battle of Azanulbizar!"

Borun shook his head. "Not killed, just injured. Get Elanor and the children, we're evacuating."

Vidar nodded as he turned back into the house and rushed back to the bedroom. Elanor instantly sat up at the look of panic on her husbands face.

"What is it?"

"Orcs. Get the girls together, we need to leave."

Elanor nodded and threw on some clothes before she rushed into the girls room. She roused both girls.

"Ama? What's wrong?" Rose asked groggily.

"We need to leave. Come, hurry and get dressed."

She did not ask again after she heard the panic in her mother's voice. She jumped out of the bed and got dressed as her mother dressed Ruby. Elanor quickly packed a few clothes before rushing out into the main room, Ruby in her arms and Rose holding her hand. Vidar, having strapped his weapons to himself were waiting.

"Come, we need to hurry."

They left the house and together the four of them met up with the others at the far end of the village they lived in. Before they could reach the gates however, a howl echoed through the night and screams pierced the air. Ruby instantly woke up, clinging to her mother as Rose held her hand tightly.

"Elanor, take the girls and get out of here."

Elanor looked to him in shock and horror. "No! I can't leave you, Vidar."

Vidar placed a hand on her cheek. "You can't stay with me Elanor, the children need you. Now go, quickly."

She nodded as she rushed off with the girls, Rose crying after her father. Vidar watched them leave with a sad expression, somehow knowing he wouldn't see them again for a long long time. He then turned and rushed towards the oncoming orcs, along with those who could fight.

"Ama, what about ada?" Rose asked her mother, her face streaked with tears.

"He'll be fine, my flower. We need to keep moving."

As they did, they soon lost sight of the village and the other women and children. That's when they heard another howl, only this time, much closer.

"Ama. . ." Ruby whimpered in her mother's arms.

As they heard a growl, Elanor looked to her girls before nodding. Going to a nearby bush, she set Ruby on her feet and turned to Rose.

"Do you remember the way to the Shire?"

She thought for a moment before she nodded. "I-I think so."

"Good. Hide here, I'm going to lead off our chaser. Wait a few moments and run, run to Aunt Bella and Uncle Bungo."

Rose shook her head. "No, ama! We can't leave you!"

Elanor smiled and opened her mouth to say more, that's when the bushes near them rustled. Jumping up, the three of them heard snuffling and a voice speaking something none of them could understand, but it was spoken so harshly, none of them wanted to find out who spoke.

"Rose, go now!"

This time, Rose didn't argue. Taking Ruby's hand, she turned and ran towards the Shire. She only looked back when she heard a scream. Covering Ruby's eyes, Rose stared with wide, fearful eyes as a white warg stood, the body of her mother in it's mouth. Astride the warg was the most terrifying creature she had ever seen. It looked to be an orc from one of her father's stories, a huge white orc with a metal hook for an arm, scars all over it's body. Holding back a scream, she turned and ran for the Shire, to the home of her Aunt and Uncle.

When the girls had arrived at Bag End, Belladonna and Bungo happily accepted their nieces into their home. Bella grieved with the girls over the loss of her eldest sister. They waited for any possible sign of Vidar, but when a week went past with nothing, they knew he had also fallen.

Belladonna's eldest brother, Isengrim, had gone to the village their sister lived with a few others who were brave enough to go after hearing the news, and soon came back with a few of the children's belongings.

They held a private memorial for the both of them, each member of the family vowing to watch over their children for them. Through all of this, Belladonna had noticed each child react differently to the memorial. Ruby sobbed her poor little heart out, while Rose stood with an emotionless look on her face, barely speaking unless spoken to. The only thing she did was watch her sister closely, as if expecting her to just disappear.

Bella didn't know what she could have seen to make her feel this way, she tried to get out of her what was wrong, especially after the nightmare on her first night with them. She woke up crying and screaming, causing Bella to sleep with her for the rest of the night to calm her.

From that day forth, Rose continue to be cold to those outside of her close family, she didn't make friends with the other hobbit children like her sister did, but would stay aside and just watch her.

….

Ten years after the death of her sister, a tiny ray of hope came to Bag End in the form of a fauntling named Bilbo Baggins. Belladonna had given birth to hers and Bungo's first child. After seeing their cousin, Rose and Ruby promised to look out for Bilbo and to make sure he was never alone.

And so it was that Rose's heart had started to soften a little more. She and Ruby treated Bilbo more like their brother than their cousin, which Bella and Bungo thought was sweet. They helped him to walk, talk, read and write. Rose had even taught Bilbo how to use a wooden sword, to the dismay of Bungo and delight of Bella. Growing up, Bilbo took after his Tookish, adventurous side more than his Baggins half.

When he was old enough, Rose, Ruby and Bilbo would often run out to the woods to look for adventures and elves and return home late, treading mud through the smial they lived in. But that happiness would all soon change once again.

In the winter of nineteen twenty six, Bungo had come down with a terrible fever, one that lasted for a long time, but it wasn't something he would never recover from. On December twenty seventh, he passed away peacefully in his sleep, leaving his grieving family behind. Rose and Ruby, having knowing this type of grief, tried their best to comfort Bilbo as much as they could, and Bilbo would accept their comfort gratefully.

After his burial, the family tried to go on with their lives as normal. But it was soon clear that Belladonna was suffering at the loss of her husband. For the first few years, she seemed to be fine, but then she slowly started to decline. Eight years after her husband died, Belladonna followed him.

Bilbo's grief after his mother died was much harder to have to watch. Bilbo had treasured his mother, loved her with every fibre of his being. After a few weeks of grieving, Bilbo became the head of the family and as Bungo's heir, was left Bag End. Of course, he had Rose and Ruby stay with him, not wanting his sisters to leave him.

For the next twenty years or so, life went on as normal as it could go. Bilbo became a respectable bachelor in Bag End, and was very happy and content to do so, Ruby became an apprentice to the healer of the Shire and as for Rose, when she was sure her brother and sister would be alright, she would often leave for days or weeks at a time.

She, unlike her sister, had never forgotten the orc that killed her parents, the one that would haunt her dreams for years after. On her travels, she had met with the Rangers of the North, who were protecting the Shire. She had joined with them and learnt all they knew. She had even been with these Rangers to the elven city of Rivendell, hesitantly at first, but she soon grew to like these elves, having come to find they are not like their cousins of the East, the ones who had turned their back on the dwarves of Erebor. . .on her father.

It wouldn't be until the year twenty nine forty one when her promise to her father would come into play. The promise to one day reclaim the dwarven kingdom of Erebor, when a certain dwarf king came to Bag End to employ Bilbo as their burglar.

Well, there's part one to my new story. Again, I hope you liked it and will continue reading this. Please let me know your thoughts on this xx

Translations;

Ada - Daddy

Ama - Mummy/Mommy

Ghivashel(s) – Treasure(s) of all treasures

Âzyungel – Love of loves