Chapter 1: A fiery Dwarf woman

Authors note: Like it says in the description this is based on the movie. The first couple of chapters are not based on scenes from the movie and are set in Erebor before Smaug attacks the city. I portrayed king Thror as a rather arrogant tyrant in this chapter to express what his people really think of him. And young Thorin is also shown differently here but hopefully it isn't too different to the movie. Enjoy!

"Bring forth the prisoner!" Ordered king Thror of Erebor. A large menacing scowl began to form under his beard as his loyal Dwarf guards did as he commanded. His head was held high in arrogance and pride as he sat on his throne, his head just below his precious 'Arkenstone'. His heirs stood beside the throne, Thrain, Thror's son, and Thror's grandson prince Thorin son of Thrain. Both had their arms behind their backs as they awaited this prisoner to be escorted into the great halls of the king. The Dwarves of Erebor also awaited the arrival of the prisoner as they stood in a large crowd in the mighty halls of the king. Among the crowd of Dwarves stood many of the noble Dwarves. Balin and Dwalin, sons of Lord Fundin were examples of the noble Dwarves that stood before the people. And while Balin stood rather proudly, his younger brother stood more menacing with his arms crossed and his scowl getting fiercer by the second.

All the Dwarves attentions were abruptly brought upon the doors as they slowly swung open to reveal two Dwarven guards dragging another Dwarf, obviously the prisoner, by their arms. The prisoner's head remained low as they dragged the poor Dwarf carelessly through the halls of the king. King Thror swiftly arose from his throne and began to walk down the steps to where the two guards had dropped the young prisoner to the floor. The king spoke up with an arrogant and disgusted tone as the prisoner tried to lift their body up with their weak arms.

"So this is the traitor?" Thror spat pacing circles around the young Dwarf as the prisoner's head remained low. "What is your name?"

The prisoner did not reply to the king's question. This agitated him. "Do you not have a voice? Speak!"

"Do as the king commands!" One of the Dwarven guards roared shoving the prisoner harder to the ground ferociously.

The prisoner lifted their head to reveal something that many of the Dwarves gasped in surprise. It was a Dwarf woman! Her long chestnut hair was full of grime and obviously had not been brushed or combed in a while, let alone washed. Her clothes were ragged and dirty from constant wear, and her short yet un-kept beard had obviously not been styled like other Dwarf women did. Her face was battered and bruised, obviously from the torture she had went through in the dungeons, but there was still something there. Despite her appearance, she still managed to form a smile. A sadistic smile formed on her battered face as she gazed up at the proud king under the mountain. And as she spoke, her voice was full of sarcasm.

"And why should I speak to my superiors? Listen, they do not to the things commoners like myself have to say."

King Thror stopped pacing and glared down at the young Dwarf woman. "Do not make me ask again woman!" He threatened.

"My name is Thobera, daughter of Dulin the herbalist in Dale," she replied with a very large hint of distaste in her voice.

"And are you aware of the charges that have been brought before you today?" Thror questioned eyes arching expectedly. She scoffed proudly struggling underneath the two Dwarven guards who pinned her down to the floor preventing her from making any sudden moves.

"How could I not?" She hissed trying to release the tight grip on her shoulder from the Dwarf guard who the hand belonged to. Thror grumbled ignoring the insolence of the pathetic woman before him and continued to speak in the manner he had planned.

"You are here because you have been accused of attempting to steal my gold from my chambers. Do you deny these accusations?" He then began to circle her again in an attempt to intimidate her. She knelt before him, narrowed eyes following every footstep and then looked to the floor glumly as she replied.

"No, I do not resent any of the accusations brought before me," she finally stated causing uproar from within the crowd "and I would gladly do it again!"

Beside his father next to his grandfather's throne, the young prince Thorin was in awe by this young Dwarf woman's attitude towards his grandfather. He knew he was a stubborn man, and that he didn't take kindly to prisoners, this was why he always came up with rather extreme punishments to anyone who dared to commit a crime in Erebor. This was to teach others a lesson, and to also put fear into the people. And now, for the first time he had ever been witness to this, a young Dwarf woman was standing up to the king!

"You want to state why you committed your crime?" Thror questioned, his voice becoming more and more strained by the second.

"With pleasure," she replied adjusting her sitting position before continuing "I did steal from you king Thror, and I stole because I had no choice. You have brought shame among your people. Your love for gold has driven you mad. You are sick. You do not realize that your people are suffering because of your greed. And I, a humble herbalist in the city of Dale, have seen first hand of the suffering you have brought among your people. I stole that gold to help a family escape poverty only to be arrested and tortured in your dungeons. And for what? For trying to bring hope back to the people? You, king Thror under the mountain are only proving my opinion of you to be even more correct."

Thror stopped and glared daggers at the Dwarf woman, infuriated by her harsh words towards him. Did she not know who she was speaking to? Or was it her own pride making her forget her manners towards her superiors?

"And may I ask, what is your opinion of me?" Thror questioned through gritted teeth obviously forcing the words to come out of his mouth.

"That you are a cruel, sick, twisted king demented by your obsession for gold." She said bluntly. Many of the Dwarf lords in the hall at the time roared in disbelief at the woman's utter disrespect toward the king shouting things like "Hang her!" or "Lock her in the dungeons and throw away the key". These comments didn't seem to bother the Dwarf woman at all. Her eyes remained fixed on the king at all times, a fiery glare not leaving his face at any second. The Dwarf king tried to get his guards to calm down the chaos which was ensuing between the Dwarves in the hall because of the woman's accusations and lack of respect towards their king. They had a reason to be angry too. They, along with the king and his heirs were rich and powerful and rarely considered the welfare of the people. They also never defied their king. But this, lowly Dwarf woman who was the daughter of a local herbalist in Dale was defying the king in every way possible and spoke her mind no matter what the consequence. This angered and infuriated them as well as the king. For she was insulting his right to rule, in which they claimed to be 'divine'.

Young prince Thorin stood along with his father Thrain, observing as this one woman had caused so much uproar among the Dwarf lords. Thorin watched as they all hurtled abuse at the prisoner who simply let it bounce off of her with a sheer look of defiance to any of their outbursts. Thorin wondered if the woman had any idea of the consequences of what she was doing or that if she really cared about it at all. And unlike the rest of his kin, Thorin kept a calm stance about him. He wasn't as offended by her insults toward his family as his father or grandfather was. For he knew that, deep down, she was right. Thorin has also felt similar feelings towards his own kin over the past few months. His grandfather had become too greedy of late and demanded more and more gold to be found within the mines. He even expected the Elves and Men to pay tribute to him, even the Elven king Thranduil.

Thorin, unlike his father and especially his grandfather, agreed with nearly everything this Dwarf woman had said. Thror's love for gold was becoming an obsession. He was slowly being driven mad by it. He now didn't care for his own people's suffering, nor was he aware of it. People were living in poverty. Children were going to bed without supper, hungry and confused at their parents struggle to survive. Losing their homes and livelihoods, the Dwarves of Erebor were slowly losing faith in their own king. And Thror, only thriving on the image of his precious gold, demanded more. And even though Thrain refused to believe his father was being driven mad by greed, Thorin on the other hand was well aware of the situation. He usually had a firm and loyal heart towards his kingdom and his people. But now, prince Thorin under the mountain was, like his people, losing faith in his king. And it was all to do with greed and a lust for gold.

"SILENCE!" Thror roared snapping Thorin out of his deep thought. Thorin focused his attention on the young Dwarf woman. She didn't seem afraid of him at all. He wondered if she ever had any fear. It took sheer nerve to stand up to her king like she was doing. She probably didn't fear death either. And Thorin knew that she would no doubt be sentenced to death or exile at the end of this so called trial. There was no way Thror would let a petty common Dwarf woman get away with insulting his right to rule, let alone stealing his precious gold.

Thror glared down at the Dwarf woman and pointed at her before addressing the crowd of Dwarf lords and the other Dwarves at the back of the hall. "This woman has demonstrated her hatred towards the kingdom of Erebor and questioned her king's judgement in such a way I dare not repeat it. And while her insults, as hurtful as they were not, will not go unpunished, neither will her crimes. She has committed an act of treason and will therefore be sentenced to death under the laws of this kingdom."

The crowd of Dwarves muttered to themselves, most in agreement at the sentence the king had passed down to the prisoner. Thorin on the other hand stood beside his father with a look of remorse towards the Dwarf woman. She glanced down at the floor in defeat knowing full well her words and opinions did not affect the king's attitude toward the people at all. For this was the reason she stole in the first place, to try and help her fellow Dwarves escape poverty and starvation. But there was no way she would back down now. She would welcome death as her parents welcomed her to life. For her life hadn't been the best. Being the daughter of a humble herbalist in the city of Dale, she had a hard life trying to make her way. For she wasn't handed a life of luxury like the Dwarf lords or the line of Durin.

Thror continued to point dramatically at the woman in an attempt to bring about as much humility towards her as possible. "This woman will be put to death here before her king tomorrow morning. Bear witness and head a lesson from this." He then glared down at the woman whose head was gripped tightly by one of the guards who pulled her up by her hair to face her king. She let out a cry of pain as her tears welled with the tension the Dwarf guard had put on her scalp as he dragged her hair by its roots to display her broken face to the crowd of cheering Dwarf lords. King Thror continued to speak but a lot quieter and focused this comment on the Dwarf woman alone. "No one makes a fool of the king of Erebor."

Thror marched away back to his throne in arrogance as a sign to the guards that he had finished with her. He gestured his hand to the guards to take her away and they did just as they instructed. Thorin watched in dismay as the guards threw the young Dwarf woman to the ground and grabbed her arms, dragging her away through the crowds of Dwarf lords and citizens as they booed and cursed her. Her face full of disgust and hatred toward her own kin she kept her head down not daring to look anyone in the eye or explain her actions further. After the door, leading back to the dungeon, was shut the uproar in the crowd was still at an all time high. The Dwarves were all discussing on their disbelief that a Dwarf woman would stand up against her own king like that. They were also discussing the astonishment she had brought upon them, for she was the only Dwarf woman to ever do such a thing.

Thror sat down on his throne proudly grinning to himself of his victory of teaching the prisoner a thing or two about self respect. And while Thrain congratulated his father, Thorin silently slipped out of the throne room and made his way to the lookout point, which overlooked the main gate, above the main halls where various Dwarf guards stood in silence bowing as the young prince bustled past them. Thorin then stopped and rested his arms on the stone wall. The sight from the lookout point overlooked the majority of the kingdom. The city of Dale was in perfect view and the people of the city were in clear sight even from that distance. Thorin gazed out into the distant in deep thought. He didn't know why he had reacted in this way about a prisoner getting executed. He had witnessed it many times to both male and female Dwarves in the past.

But none of those prisoners had much need for concern from him, for they did not have a motive behind it. Some of them were just greedy Dwarves attempting to steal for their own personal reasons in a hope to get rich. But this Dwarf woman wanted to do it to help a family of Dwarves escape the poverty his own grandfather had inflicted upon them. It didn't feel right for her to be sentenced to death just for trying to help people. And of course there was the matter of her insults towards the king. Thorin had agreed with some of them, secretly of course. He too believed his grandfather was too infatuated with his gold to consider his peoples welfare. Not to mention his pride and dignity were becoming too bold, even for a king under the mountain. Thorin was also astounded by the way the Dwarf woman spoke her mind, very few did that like she did. She had a fiery spirit he had never seen before in a Dwarf woman. And it somewhat saddened him to know that she was sentenced to death for such ridiculous circumstances.

Thorin continued his constant thought not realizing the situation behind him. A middle aged Dwarf he knew very well, relieved the guards of their duties and made his way over to the obviously troubled young prince. The stood, resting his arms on the stone wall, next to Thorin looking out into the distance just as the young prince was doing. Thorin hadn't noticed his sudden appearance because his thoughts had sidetracked him. It wasn't until the older Dwarf spoke up that he was noticed.

"You alright laddie?"

Thorin suddenly snapped back into reality and faced his companion before speaking rather abruptly "Balin, what brings you out here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Balin replied his eyes narrowing on the rather awkward Dwarf prince. "You seem troubled."

"Just came out for a breath of fresh air as all," Thorin lied hoping that his older friend wouldn't notice. But unfortunately for him, Balin was a wise Dwarf in his coming old age, and he could tell when the young Dwarf prince was lying or not.

"Is this about the Dwarf lass?" Balin asked receiving an odd glance from Thorin.

"What?"

"The Dwarf lass," Balin repeated "the one your grandfather, the king, just condemned to death."

"Oh Balin," Thorin smiled slightly patting his old friend on the shoulder before frowning again "you know me too well."

"It is alright to disagree with your grandfather's orders you know," Balin explained turning his head back out looking over the city of Dale and beyond "it is a way for you to learn your own ways of right and wrong."

Thorin glanced down remorsefully "I don't know what it is. Usually I find no fault in my grandfather's orders, but this is the first time I have. I do not believe that woman should be condemned to death for trying to help the people."

"But she did steal from the king," Balin stated truthfully using one of his hands to smooth out his long dark grey beard.

"I know that Balin," Thorin said shaking his head gazing over to his friend "but I do not feel that a reason to sentence her to death. She too can see the suffering of our people, and she also thinks that the king has a sickness of the mind with gold. Defying her king and trying to help her people should not be a death sentence."

"Nor should she be rewarded with life," Balin replied "but I see what you're coming at laddie. Her father used to supply my father with herbs to help ease his passing when the time came. She was but a child at the time and both of them seemed nice enough. Her mother died when she was a baby you know. I can understand why she did it, but still her attitudes towards the king were not acceptable."

"What do you think Balin?" Thorin questioned expecting his friend to be open and honest "do you think she deserves to die?"

"It does not matter what I think," Balin said "I am not the king; therefore my opinion is not valid."

"But what does your heart tell you?"

"That she should not be sentenced to death," Balin then turned his head away again "like you I believe she did it for the good of the people and considerations should be made to assure she could go free. Perhaps live in exile or something better than the death sentence. She could live somewhere where she could start a new life and help people there perhaps. But, like I said, it is not up to me to decide. Therefore she will not be able to escape her sentence unless someone breaks her out of the dungeons."

Thorin's eyes widened at the thought of the idea. It sounded crazy, yes but it sounded as if it could be done. But why would he be prepared to risk so much for a woman who he barely knew and had committed a crime against his family? It was a feeling of guilt mixed with pity. He knew she was not guilty of any crime other than trying to help her people, but the other Dwarves did not see it like that. Nor did his grandfather ever show pity towards his people. He saw pity as a weakness, but sometimes pity could be a strength.

Balin left the young Dwarf prince by himself, hoping for the life of him that he didn't put any crazy ideas into the young Dwarf's mind. Thorin usually looked to his older friend for advice in times of need, for he looked up to Balin like a second father. Balin was among the few considered wise, and he had good reason to be. He had survived many battles and stood up for many things in his own life to be considered a wise man. This was one of the many reasons Thorin turned to Balin for advice rather than his own father or grandfather.

Thorin had considered if this Dwarf woman was really worth risking his own life for. He wanted to gain his own reputation among the people of Erebor, and saving this woman may be a start to demonstrating his care for the people. He knew his duties to the people came before anything else and he couldn't bear to watch an innocent young Dwarf woman with a lot of ambitions ahead to be executed for doing something he himself didn't have the nerve to do before now. The more he thought about it, the more he became determined to do what it took to spare the life of this one woman. He was prepared to defy his own grandfather just this once to do something he believed to be right. This would hopefully help his abilities for when the time came for him to become king of Erebor.

So it was decided. Thorin would break into the dungeon at night and get the Dwarf woman out. For once in his life he was prepared to give his people hope and to no longer doubt the line of Durin. And despite his grandfather's arrogance and blindness due to his love for gold, Thorin would try his best as a prince of Erebor to do his solemn duty to serve his people. And it would start tonight, when he broke the young Dwarf woman from prison…

Authors note: So what do you think so far? Thobera and Thorin will interact more in the next chapter when he tries to break her out of the dungeon. Please tell me what you think in the reviews! Thank you! I shall update soon if I can.