Hello followers and reviewers. I am glad that so many of you have taken an interest in this story. Before I get any farther, I just want to remind you all that this story will have a slow update schedule. Currently I am rewriting two of my Doctor Who stories, and when I get bored, or get a writing block, I jump over to this story. I just wanted to remind you all of this, especially since several of you have been messaging me like crazy about updating this story. Plus I have been battling a stomach flu bug, two weeks ago, and food poisoning, past few days. Which neither one was very fun to have, and I am still trying to recuperate.

I'd like to take a moment to thank the people who have left a review. I appreciate that you left a review and loved hearing what you all had to say about it.

Khuzdul.

Disclaimer: I Don't own the Hobbit.


It is late in the evening hours and twilight is only an hour away from beginning. Even with the lateness of the hour, the western side of the Blue Mountain chain still has some sunlight kissing the peaks. Yet this serene sight was marred by a quick burst of light within the lower tree line of the mountain chain. With the light came the breaking of several trees within its sphere; as well as a small landslide that sent a loud rumbling through the air.

It was this rumbling sound, and trembling of the earth, that had caught the attention of a new settlement of dwarves. These dwarves were refugees from the well-known dwarven kingdom of Erebor who had just begun living in the Blue Mountains only three years earlier. Their leader, having seen the light from the distance, was already out with a search party looking for his two missing nephews.

Only a few feet from the perimeter of the broken trees caused by the flash of light, is where these two missing nephews were at. The oldest boy, age twenty in dwarf years but looking like am eight-year-old child of men, is chasing after the youngster that is with him.

"Kee. Wait a minute! You don't know if it is a trap." The oldest boy, who has blonde hair, shouts while trying to catch up to his sibling.

The younger, dark-haired boy, who is six years younger than his older sibling, continues running through the broken trees. His warm brown eyes take in the sight of the destruction that has formed this small opening deep within the forest on the mountain side.

"Oh wow. Fee! You gots ta see this!" the young boy yells as he jumps from broken tree trunk to broken tree trunk.

"Kee, be careful!" the blond brother calls out as he tries to navigate through the destruction. "Dammit, Amad and Thorin are going to skin me alive for not getting us back before dark."

Up ahead, the older brother can hear his younger sibling giggling and laughing while jumping from fallen tree to fallen tree. Even though he isn't thrilled at the idea of being punished for coming home after dark, he can't help but feel happy to see his younger brother having fun. Still navigating through the destruction, the older brother notices that he can't hear his younger siblings' laughter anymore.

"Kee! Kili!" The blonde brother shouts with worry.

Not getting a response, he keeps yelling out for his brother while trying to hurry to the last spot he had seen his brother. It doesn't take him long to see that his dark-haired brother standing on the edge of a shallow crater in the sloped ground.

"Kili, don't scare me like that!" The older brother growls out as he reaches his brothers' side.

"Shhhh. Fee. They're sleeping. Look."

The younger brother points to the center of the shallow crater that is as wide across as one of the trees, but is only as deep as their amad's waist. It is there that the older brother sees two figures lying in the dirt and debris. One of them is a tall and dark haired while the other is shorter with golden bronze colored hair that has very loose waves to it. Yet there is something protruding from the dark haired one's middle.

"Kili, I think we need to go back and get Uncle Thorin."

"But we can't leave them, Fee. It gets cold out during the dark time." Kili states as he carefully, but slowly, moves to enter the crater.

"Kee, no."

"We has to keep them warm Fee." Kili says with a pout before continuing on down into the shallow crater.

Letting out a sigh of frustration, the older brother follows after his brother. "Fine, but we need to make a signal fire for Uncle Thorin so that he can find us."

"You do that, Fee."

Rolling his slate blue eyes, the older brother watches as Kili pulls off his little pack and pulls out his small fur coat from inside the pack. Taking off his own pack, the older of the two throws his pack at Kili.

"Use my coat as well, Kili."

"Okay."

Kili places his own small fur coat over the bronze haired person before digging into his brother's pack for another fur coat. Where Kili's coat was made out of a brown fur, the other fur coat was made out of gray fur. This gray fur coat soon found itself being placed over the taller of the two unconscious bodies. As Kili makes sure to cover the torso of the taller one, a deep shiver shoots down his spine as he looks at the white face. As he pushes back some of the hair, Kili lets out a gasp in surprise.

"Fili! It's an elf!" Kili shouts as he scrambles backwards, away from the body.

"What?"

The blonde haired brother hurries to his brother's side, leaving the barely started signal fire to smoke. Neither of the two brothers have ever seen an elf, but from what they had heard the older dwarves and dams have said, elves were not to be trusted. Yet the older brother could see that this elf had a puddle of blood underneath its body as well as blood soaked clothes near the blade that was embedded in its belly.

"I think the elf is dead."

"You sure, Fee?"

"Yeah. Its chest is moving."

A sudden groan from behind them causes the two boys to jump in surprise. They turn to see the bronze colored body roll from its stomach to its back. Once on its back, both boys are shocked to see a hint of a bosom on the body.

"A lass." Kili whispers in surprise at seeing a female that wasn't living in the settlement.

"Kili! Fili!" A loud voice calls out in the distance.

"Over here!" Fili yells out in relief at the knowledge that he and his brother won't have to sleep out in the cold night.

There is the sound of hurried footsteps as well as the sound of swords being pulled from their places. It isn't long before two figures arrive at the edge of the shallow crater. Both males, one with gray hair and the other with wavy black hair.

"You lads alright?" The older, gray haired one asks as he is the first to enter the crater.

"Yes." Fili says shyly, wondering if he and Kili will be getting a tongue lashing.

"Are either of you hurt?"

"No, Balin." Kili says in a huff before looking at the other male. "Are we in trouble, Uncle Thorin?"

"That is up to your amad to decide." Thorin replies as he makes his way over to his two nephews. He pulls them into a hug before checking them over for any injury.

"We fine, but look! A lassie!" Kili says as he brushes away his uncle's hands.

"We can see that laddie." Balin replies as he gently checks the female over for injury.

"Will she be okay?" Fili asks his uncle while trying hard not shiver as the last of the sunlight has dipped beneath the horizon.

"Balin?" Thorin asks the older dwarf.

"She doesn't appear to have any visible injury, but she may have a head injury. Best we get her and the lads back to the settlement." Balin says as he takes off his warm traveling cloak.

Gently as possible, Balin bundles up the lass with his cloak and notices that the lass has a dwarven chain necklace peeking out from beneath her tunic and light chest armor. This intrigues the older dwarf since he knows that there aren't many dams of royal lineage that would have a mithril necklace. Lifting the lass into his arms, Balin watches as Thorin wraps the two princes into their fur coats. Yet Balin can't help but notice the younger of the princes has his eyes glued to the dead elf.

"Come laddie. We'll get you home and fed." Balin says to Kili, hoping that seeing a dead elf hasn't traumatized the young lad.

"Shouldn't we bury him?" Kili asks, though he hasn't moved from his spot nor looked away from the dead body.

"There isn't time, and the ground will soon become too cold to dig." Thorin grumbles out as he stands up from having helped Fili tie his gray fur coat closed.

"But we can't leave the elf like this." Kili says with a pout on his lips.

"Kili, there isn't time." Thorin growls out as he begins to lose his patience with his youngest nephew.

"Then I'll bury him." Kili says as he starts to digging into the ground near the elf's body.

Thorin, not having any of Kili's stalling on them getting home, stomps over to where the lad is digging. He grabs Kili from underneath his armpits and lifts the boy from the ground. He fights to keep his hold on the lad as the boy wiggles and squirms in Thorin's hold.

"Let me down. Let me down. I gots to bury him." Kili screams out as he fights to get free.

Tears start to build in his brown eyes as he is carried away from the elf's body. Kili watches helplessly as the body gets farther from him, and the young boy can't help but wonder at why he feels like he needs to bury the elf. He doesn't even know who the elf was.

Once Thorin, Balin, and Fili have left the crater's center, they are met by a small group of dwarves with ponies. One of them, with a mohawk and tattoos on his head, approaches Thorin and the still squirming Kili.

"What's got the laddie all upset?"

Thorin, holding a crying Kili tight to his chest, doesn't answer the dwarf as he walks over to where his pony is waiting for him. Yet it is Fili who answers the dwarf's question.

"Mister Dwalin. Kili is upset that the dead elf isn't being buried." Fili states with his head hanging down.

"An elf? What's it doing this far away from its kin?" Dwalin growls out to himself.

"I think the elf was with the lassie here, nadadith." Balin says as he gently hands the bronze haired dam to dwarf who is already on a pony.

"What's a dam doin' with a tree-shagger?"

"Don't know, but it is best if we get the lassie to Oin as quick as we can. She may have a head injury that we are unaware about." Balin replies to his younger brother's question as he climbs up onto his own pony. The dwarf beside him hands the unconscious dam up to Balin once he is settled in his saddle.

"Aye. Best get the lass looked at." Dwalin reaches down and picks up a silent Fili. Making sure he has a good hold on the lad, Dwalin swings his way up onto his own dapple colored pony. Placing Fili in front of him, and keeping an arm around the lad, Dwalin waits as Thorin settles himself and Kili upon his black colored pony.

"Dis will be worried no doubt at what has taken us so long." Balin says to Thorin as a few of their fellow dwarves finish lighting their torches in the growing dark of night.

"We will tell her what the lads have discovered." Thorin says as he takes hold of the reigns of his pony. "In the morning I will be sending a few troops out to search over the terrain. During their search, I will have them bury the elf."

"Aye, I'll lead the troops here then." Dwalin drawls out as he gently nudges his pony into moving.

Thorin gives Balin a look before nudging his own pony into following with some of the other dwarves keeping up with their king and two princes. Balin, however, with one hand on his reigns lets his own pony trot after the others. He can't help but wonder as to who this lass is and where she comes from.

~TCDF~

Deep within the dam's slumbering mind, she is unaware as to what is happening in the outside world. However, within her sleeping mind, she is almost reliving an event that she has tried to very hard to suppress in her mind for the past thirty-three years of her life. An event so hellacious that even her adopted, elven mother had a hard time to help calm her from its appearance in her dreams.

She is a little dwarfling, of nineteen summers, running through the vastness of her uncle's kingdom. The stone walkways and large pillars have a green and gray tint shine to them. Coming to a stop, giggling with glee from playing chase, she looks through one of the railing and can see down into the kingdom within this mountain. There, in the distance from her place on high, she can see her uncle sitting on the throne.

Seeing her uncle sitting on the throne, surrounded by several of his counselors, she lets out a giggle and starts running again. Squeezing by several servants and courtiers, she doesn't give any of them second glance as she keeps running to her intended spot. Letting out several pearls of laughter on her journey, she doesn't stop for a second to formally bow to anyone.

Coming round a corner, she finally sees her uncle's throne. Not slowing down for anything or anyone, she runs right up to and launches herself at her uncle.

"Gotcha uncle!" She laughs out, landing face first into her uncle's belly. She lets out a few giggles as she feels his belly shake with his own laughter.

"Aye, lassie, ya got me." He laughs out as he lifts her to sit on his knee. "And why aren't ya with your amad lass?"

"Shhh. I'm hidin'." She replies with a giggle.

The rest of the courtiers and counselors laugh at the young dam's antics. For they know how much of a soft spot their king has for his niece and heir. Even though she is of an age where she should be in school, learning how to run a kingdom and manage a royal household, many cannot fault the king into spoiling his heir.

The king gives her a big hug and a gentle kiss in her bronze colored hair, which has only two braids in it that signify her as heir and her family lineage. Then he places her back down onto the ground, smoothing out her golden skirt to her dress before sending her off to play.

From this point, her dream changes from this happy memory to one that would be the last time she would ever see her uncle again.

Their kingdom had been under siege for a second time in less than a year. The first siege had lasted only a few weeks, in which the old king had been killed and her uncle had taken up the throne. Yet this second siege, coming only three weeks after her twentieth birthday celebration, would bring about the fall of her happiness.

Playing in the royal family's quarters, she wasn't aware of just how serious or deadly the siege had turned. Wearing a teal colored dress with matching slippers, she had been sitting on the floor with several dolls surrounding her. It is the banging of her bedroom door by her mother, that causes the lass to startle.

"Quickly, Shara. We must go now." Her amad tells her as she picks up the lass. "We need to leave before we become trapped."

Not really understanding what her amad is trying to tell her, Shara allows herself to be taken from her room. Shara watches from over her amad's shoulder as her dollies are left behind. Yet this doesn't bother Shara that much, since she always returns to her rooms once things have settled. It is when Shara notices that her amad has taken her from the royal wing does the seriousness of things hit. The mother and daughter duo run through the crowds in the hallways of the kingdom as screaming echoes out from the gates. Screaming of dying dwarves and screeching orcs and goblins that have breached the gate.

It is on one of the staircases that Shara's amad runs into her uncle. If one didn't know any better, they would mistake their king and his sister as being the same person. For both siblings have their father's red hair and Durin blue eyes.

"Taryn!" Her uncle calls out as he runs to the two females.

"Thorin!"

"You need to get out of here, now!" Thorin shouts at his older sister over the yelling and screaming of his people. "The gate has been breached and the enemy has entered Erebor."

"Where do we go?" Taryn asks her brother, her king.

"Go to the secret entrance and take as many as you can with you. I don't believe Sauron knows of its presence." Thorin tells his sister before removing a mithril chain from around his neck. Quickly he pulls off the ring that their adad had given Thorin before the first siege of their homeland. Placing the ring onto the chain, he then places the chain over Shara's head. "You must be brave and strong for our people, Shara. Lead them well, and protect them."

"Nadadith, no. Ya cannot stay behind." Taryn whimpers out at seeing her brother give her daughter the royal ring that bears the king's mark.

"I have to give ya a chance, no matter how small it is, ta escape this place. Please, Taryn. Take Shara and go." Thorin presses his forehead against his sister's.

It is as Thorin releases his sister from their show of affection that their worst fears are realized. Coming from above them large amounts of screaming echo down into the rest of the kingdom. It is followed by the screeching of goblins that have broken in from above.

"Oh Mahal preserve us." Taryn whimpers out with tears starting to fall down her cheeks.

Thorin lets out a growl before roughly taking hold of Taryn's arm. He pulls her down the stairs, barely paying attention to her hold on his heir. As they run down, deep into the bowels of Erebor Thorin can hear several of his personal guards following after their king. They barely make it past the ground level and the ever growing swarms of orcs and goblins that are taking over and killing any survivors. After going down two more levels in the vastness of Erebor, Thorin releases his hold on his sister's arm.

"Go to the crypts. Hide there if necessary, but find the River of Memories and jump into it. It will carry you out of Erebor and hopefully far enough from Erebor that you may have a chance to get away from Sauron's forces." Thorin tells his sister before giving her and Shara a tight hug. "I'll hold them off for as long as I can."

Taryn lets out a soft cry of anguish, while all Shara does is let the tears fall down her cheeks.

"Now go, and don't look back Taryn. Don't look back." Thorin presses a kiss to Taryn's forehead and then does the same to Shara.

Taryn nods her head solemnly and sets Shara down onto the ground, but still keeps Shara's hand in hers. The two females move as fast as they can, going deeper into the lowest of levels where the crypts are kept. As they reach the main gate of the crypts, the sounds of close fighting echoes down from above. Looking down at her child, Taryn decides to do something that will forever impact Shara's life.

Pulling a small, hidden blade from the bodice of her dress Taryn hands it to Shara before opening the gate that is the entrance of the crypts. Shoving her child inside, Taryn quickly closes and locks the gate.

"Go to the River of Memory, Shara."

"Amad." Shara whimpers out from the other side of the gate.

"Quickly now Shara. It is up to you now to preserve the Durin bloodline. I will buy you time." Taryn says to her child before turning her back to Shara. "Go now!"

Shara, not one to argue with her amad, steps away from the gate. She can hear the sounds of the approaching orcs and goblins getting louder. Taking one last look at her amad, Shara turns and flees deeper into the crypts. As she keeps running, Shara tries to ignore the screams of her amad as well as the loud jeering of orcs and excited screeches of the goblins.

Even though the crypt is barely lit up by the glow worms that live this far down, Shara is afraid that she will be seen. Following the main hallway of the crypt, it twists and turns several times and it isn't long till Shara has become confused on where she is. The loud clang of the crypt's gate causes Shara to stop dead in her tracts. Now there is nothing standing between her and the enemy.

Trying hard to keep her wits, Shara whips her head around till she notices a seal door just to her left. Moving over to the door, Shara gently pushes on the sealed door and it opens just enough for her to squeeze through. She closes the door behind her and quickly takes stock of the room she is in. In the center of the room there are three sarcophaguses with lying statues of the occupants on the lids. To the far right, in a hollowed out space in the wall is another sarcophagus in a more feminine fashion than the other three in the room.

With the loud screeching of the approaching goblins, Shara decides it is in this room that she will make her last stand. A last stand for the bloodline of Durin and the dwarves of Erebor. Setting the blade that her amad had given her on the lid of the middle sarcophagus, Shara pulls herself up onto it. With blade in hand, Shara is determined to face her adversaries with courage.

The door rattles and bangs as the enemy outside of it tries to break through. It takes several hard hits before it breaks open.

"Du Bekâr!" Shara's little voice screams out at the first goblin to attack her.

Blocking the hit with her tiny blade, Shara leaps backwards and stumbles to keep her footing on the statue. Then another goblin enters and swings a club at Shara, which causes her to leap from the center sarcophagus to the one on the left. The goblin's club shatters through the stone lid and breaks it into several pieces. Looking over at the broken lid, Shara can see a pale blue glow coming from within.

Since this blue glow had captured her attention, Shara doesn't see the first goblin's fist swing out at her. This blow sends her flying across the room and right over the broken lid and over the third sarcophagus. She hits the ground and rolls numerous times till she comes to a stop on the floor just before the alcove in the crypt wall.

As she rises up from the ground without her small blade, Shara watches as the two goblins break the other two sarcophaguses before charging at her. Closing her eyes, afraid of seeing the coming death blow that will end her, Shara whimpers out in fear. Yet the air in the room fills with an unknown charge and the death shrieks of the goblins fill the room. Then the charge in the air disappears, returning back to its staleness.

Shara opens her eyes cautiously and lets out a gasp at what she sees before her. The statues that were on the lids of the three sarcophaguses are kneeling before her as if they were never broken. Looking past the statues, Shara sees several arrows sticking out of one of the goblins while the other goblin has a falchion blade sticking in the goblins chest.

"What?" Shara whispers to herself, still having a hard time believing what has happened.

With the approaching sounds of even more goblins and orcs coming from the hallway, Shara lets out a whimper before something truly amazing happens. The three statues come to life, and the middle one reaches out to take Shara in one of its arms. The statues walk out of the room without speaking or doing anything else. It is in the statues arms that Shara is able to get a better look at the face. It has a long nose, with a small beard etched onto its strong chin and cheekbones.

"Who are you?" Shara asks the statue, and she lets out a squeak when she doesn't hear but feels a reply in her mind.

'You will be taken to safety, Little Queen.' A male voice teasingly whispers in Shara's mind.

Looking over her rescuers shoulder, Shara witnesses something truly amazing. Other statues are marching in the hallway and attacking the swarms of goblins and orcs.

"They've awakened." Shara whispers in surprise.

'As was promised by Mahal, cousin.' A gentle male voice whispers in Shara's mind, but is very young sounding from the stronger male voice that had answered her earlier.

Before Shara can see or say another thing, the sound of rushing water reaches her ears. This causes her to cover her ears with her hands because the sound is so deafening. Knowing that she has reached the River of Memory, Shara can't help but want to stay with those who have awakened once more.

'We shall see each other again, Bunnanunê.' A strong male voice says to her, before Shara finds herself falling down towards the fast moving river.

~TCDF~

Shara wakes up with a gasp and her eyes fly open. Taking quick breaths, Shara tries to calm herself down from the dream vertigo that seems to still have her body in its grasp. Her eyes begin to dart back and forth, taking stock of her surroundings. Whatever this place is, it isn't anywhere in the Gray Havens.

With her breath calmed somewhat, Shara slowly lifts herself so that she is sitting in bed. The bed she is in is along a long wall of the small room. Off to the right of the bed there is a small table with a bowl filled with water and a small cloth draped over the edge of the bowl. There are several fur rugs on the floor of the room that eventually taper off near the open doorway. There isn't a solid door, but there is a long canvas flap that serves as a door, which is pulled back halfway. It is then that Shara realizes that the only light in the room is coming through that gap.

Slowly climbing out of the bed, Shara comes to the realization that someone has undressed her since all that she is wearing is a long night shift that reaches the tops of her toes. None of her original clothes are in the room from what she can see, and none of her weapons are in there as well. The only thing, besides her night gown, that she is wearing is the mithril necklace with her uncle's ring on it. That is still laying around her neck where it should always be.

Standing there, a few feet from the bed, the light enters even more into the room and Shara has to squint against the brightness of it.

"Amad, the lass is awake!" a small, blonde dwarfling, who is wearing only a long night shirt, shouts from the doorway of the room.


Did I just leave you guys with a cliffhanger? My bad. Just so there isn't any confusion, in Shara's memory she is only twenty but looks like she is eight years old. In the time that she is found by little Fili and Kili, Shara is fifty-four but looks to be about sixteen. So hopefully that clears up on how young Shara looks to her fellow dwarves. Fili also looks like an eight-year-old when he is actually twenty, and Kili is fourteen but looks to be a five-year-old. Trying to compute the number differences between men and dwarves aging is difficult so I took my best guess at it.

Reviews are welcomed and cherished.

Selene