Borin settling in his new home. I added a small detail in chapter 2, cause I forgot to mention it. Something that will also be mentioned in this chapter.

Chapter 7: Erebor at Last

King Bard welcomed them warmly when they arrived in New Dale. Although King Bard was very protective of his eldest daughter, he did not object to the marriage between Sigrid and Fíli, though he had threatened the Dwarf Prince with a painful death if he harmed her. After Fíli's and Sigrid's marriage, relations between Dale and Erebor had increased drastically, even more than between the Elves and the Dwarves. When Kíli and Tauriel were married, King Thranduil had turned up briefly for the ceremony, but then he left without even offering the newlyweds any words of congratulations.

"Do you think that Borin will adapt to living in a mountain?" asked Bard

"Why shouldn't he? He'll have full access to the entire mountain, besides, he has Dwarven blood," replied Thorin.

"He is also part Hobbit. You remember Bilbo and how much he relished sunshine."

"His quarters were once meant for Bilbo, do you think that I would have forgotten about Hobbits and their love for growing plants? I have a garden prepared for him to quench his Hobbit desires."

"And what of your people? Will they accept an outsider?"

"I am the King, they wouldn't even dare to object," said Thorin with an air of finality in his tone.

The next day, they finished the final stretch of their journey to the Lonely Mountain. Legolas tried not to feel too uncomfortable- being the only Elf among Dwarves. This part of the journey was lost on Borin. Being told, for as far back as he could remember, that his parents had died by drowning had instilled a deep fear of the water within him.

"You do know that we're in a boat right? Most of the Men of Laketown and Dale are fishermen, if they don't build sturdy boats, no one will," said Nori, eyeing the nervous Dwobbit.

"I've never been fond of water," muttered Borin.

"Well, we'll have to remedy that," laughed Bofur. "You'll need swimming lessons as well as combat training."

"Here we are, Master Baggins. Welcome to Erebor," Thorin announced, resting his hands on Borin's shoulders.

Borin was in awe. Now that he was so close to the Mountain, he noticed its grandeur and he understood why the Dwarves took pride in their homeland.

The great doors opened and they were allowed in.

"Brother!" said a strong voice and a Dwarrowdam dressed in Durin Blue approached them.

"Ah, Dís! We've made it back earlier than expected." Thorin then beckoned Borin over and said, "Sister, this is Borin Baggins. Borin, this is my sister, Dís."

"A pleasure to meet you, My Lady."

"There is no need for any formalities, dear."

"And this is Rallia, formerly from the Iron Hills," continued Thorin.

"Formerly?" asked the Dwarrowdam.

"I'm now a wanderer, My Lady."

"Well, you may put aside your wondering days for as long as you like, for you are more than welcome here." Dís then turned toward the silent Dwobbit and said, her eyes softening as she spoke to the young orphan, "Come, Borin, you must be weary after such a tedious journey, I'll show you to your room."

Legolas watched as the Lady ushered her charge away.

"Legolas, come, I sent a letter to Tauriel from Dale and she's expecting you," said Kíli.

His room was more like a whole smial, maybe even bigger. It was huge. Borin stood openly gaping from the doorway.

"This door leads to the garden and you have your own bathroom. Dori should be preparing some warm clothes for you to wear; you'll need them as winter becomes even colder. You can ring this bell and a servant will come to assist you in anything, may it be food or drink or even to draw you a bath."

"I…I…I think that this is too much, I don't need so much room," said Borin.

"Nonsense, this is less then you deserve. You should see my brother's room."

"But your brother is the King. Back in Hobbiton, my room was a broom cupboard and I fit in that just fine."

"A cupboard?" her tone had a dangerous edge to it and Borin seemed to have recognised his slip.

Dís seemed to have sensed his unease as she stood up from where she was sitting only moments earlier and said, "I'll leave you to your rest, my room is just down the hall. Call me if you need anything."

After offering him a soft smile, she left the room with her dress swirling around her.

Dís did not even bother to knock on the door of her brother's room. She simply marched in and sat down on one of the chairs with an angry frown marring her countenance.

"Something the matter?" asked Thorin, eyeing his sister.

"That child should have never been placed in the care of his so-called aunt and uncle," She snapped with narrowed eyes.

"It was for his protection," said Gandalf.

"They made him sleep in a cupboard!" exclaimed Dís.

That caused Thorin to choke on his wine.

"I never said he was perfectly taken care of," muttered the Grey Wizard.

"I told you that I could have looked after him," said Rallia, sounding annoyed.

"For the last time, he needed to be with his kin."

Dís opened her mouth, no doubt to retaliate, but Thorin cut her off and said, "We cannot change the past, but we can ensure him a better future. He'll be safe here."

A gentle knock sounded on the door, breaking through the conversation. At the door stood the two Ereborian princesses, with their children and accompanied by Legolas and Kíli. Legolas and Tauriel were both bearing smiles indicating that any awkwardness between them had been quickly overcome.

"I wonder why you didn't come to visit me upon your return, husband," said Sigrid with a dangerous tone, causing Fíli to gulp.

"Adad! Adad!" exclaimed her children running to embrace their father.

The Line of Durin had endured hardships in the past. The Battle of Azanulbizar had taking Thorin's grandfather, father and brother. Dís' husband was also killed later in a mining accident back when she was still pregnant with Kíli. Yet, Mahal finally smiled onto the Line of Durin when Tauriel had born Kíli two children, Frerin and Vanya, while Sigrid had also given birth to two other children, Víli and Darelle. Having two females born in the same generation was considered a blessing.

"I still can't believe it," exclaimed Frerin, "Borin Baggins is really here, in Erebor"

"Does he have that scar on his shoulders?" continued Víli.

"My son, we didn't ask him to remove his shirt to gape at his scar," admonished Fíli.

Thorin turned towards the Elven Prince and said, "You are welcome to spend the night here."

"As much I would love to, Your Majesty, I shouldn't be away from my kingdom for too long. The days are growing darker."

"Then, I bid you farewell and luck on your travels."

"Will you not bear Borin farewell?" asked Rallia.

"Alas, it is best that I slip away silently. Farewell my lords and ladies." With those final words Legolas left the room, no doubt heading towards the front gate.

"Now, I expect you all to be welcoming to Borin, you will be meeting him this evening as he'll dine with us," said Thorin eying his grand-nieces and nephews.

"Of course, uncle," said Vanya, while Darelle jumped with excitement next to her.

"Do you think that they'll get along?" Dwalin muttered in Thorin's ear.

"There is no reason why they should not."

"Want to put a little wager on this?"

"You're on," laughed Thorin

Dwalin hated loosing, but he was an even sorer looser when he lost to Thorin. His King just smirked at him and counted his winnings.

The young princes and princesses seemed to have just gravitated towards Borin.

"So, do you remember anything from that night, Borin?" asked Frerin eying the Dwobbit curiously. That particular comment caused him to be slapped over his head by Thorin and glared at by his parents and grandmother.

"Don't mind him, Borin, my son seemed to have forgotten his manners," said Tauriel angrily.

"Er...well..."

"And do you really have the scar?" asked Víli, oblivious to what was happening around him.

"Víli!" snapped Sigrid, "That's enough."

"Ignore my brother and cousin," said Vanya, "But, tell me, what's your weapon of choice?"

Vanya, like her mother, opted for a bow and dual knives.

"I'm training with a sword," said Borin.

The only one who wasn't speaking was Darelle she seemed to occupy herself by looking at the Dwobbit and blushing deep crimson.

"We need to take you on an official tour around Erebor," said Víli enthusiastically, taking command as he was the oldest.

Borin felt a sudden burst of warmth spreading within him- this was what having friends felt like. They did not consider him different because of his mixed blood.

"Children, don't suffocate him. He's spent days on the road," admonished Dís.

"Yes, Gamil Amad," said Víli, feeling downtrodden.

Dís rolled her eyes, affectionately and told the Dwobbit, "My grandchildren can be quite a handful. Why they even surpass their fathers' mischief, back when they were children."

"Gimli was worse than us," pointed out Kíli.

"Was not!" answered the Dwarf mentioned, annoyed.

"How old are you lads again?" questioned Balin.

Kíli opened his mouth to answer, but his brother hit him over the head before he could say anything and told him, "It was a rhetorical question, idiot."

"Adad, if I called my sister or cousins that I would have been slapped over the head," said Víli.

"I'm older than you, I may call my brother whatever I like."

"Fíli!" said Sigrid disapprovingly, causing him to look at her sheepishly.

"You know, I've never heard of a couple that argued more than Bilbo and Bís did," said Rallia.

Borin looked at her in surprise.

A smile of remembrance crossed her features and she said, "Indeed, your mother was young for a dwarf and her immature ways got in the way of Bilbo's more serious nature."

"Bilbo was never that serious, there were times when he used to prank us," said Kíli.

"The war changes people, my prince, but Bís, she was never one to stay serious, not even in the middle of a war. I should know; the number of times that I served as a mediator in one of their argument, especially before their marriage."

"But Bilbo never argued, we never once heard him raise his voice," said Thorin looking baffled.

At the dam's raised eyebrows he amended his statement and said, "Except when one of my nephews' pranks went wrong, that used to set him off."

"Bilbo agreed to go out and court Bís after she matured a little bit, though they've been friends from the start."

"Hasn't anyone ever told you about your parents, Borin?" asked Dís.

"Not really, my aunt used to say that my dad was a drunk, that was what caused the boating accident and she never used to mention my mother's name."

A heavy silence settled over the table as Thorin forced out of his clenched teeth, "Your father wasn't a drunk and they didn't die in a boating accident."

"Thorin!" cut in Gandalf, "I told him what happened, now come, it's late and I'm sure on the morrow the young princes and princesses will be most eager to show him around."

"That's right, there are the training grounds, the library..." started Frerin cutting through the tension.

"The markets and the mines..."

"Víli, you are not go anywhere near the mines."

"Yes, mother."

Later that evening, Thorin stood on the battlements staring to the West.

"The lad is asleep," said Dwalin, as he approached him.

"Teach him how to use a sword properly, Dwalin. He needs to learn how to protect himself. I fear that the war has only just begun."

Víli is also the name that once belonged to Dís' husband and Fíli's and Kíli's father. Fíli named his eldest child after him.

Khuzdul:

Gamil Amad-grandmother