Chapter 9: Every beginning has an ending

Letter arrived from his sister, or to be more precisely about Thorin's sister. Apparently Dis had died while defending her home against orcs. These foul creatures were getting more and more daring and Thorin could not quite help himself, but to think that this was just the beginning. He had no idea how right he had been…

The lads were now old enough to take care of themselves and to help in the blacksmith. At least Fili helped Dwalin and Thorin, Kili was most of the time hunting out in the woods with Bifur and sometimes even with Nori. Thorin still felt uneasy about the latter, but the red haired dwarf had become a great ally and a good source of information.

The letter arrived during a pleasant evening in summer and once more it were Oin and Gloin who delivered the news, but this time they actually stayed. They and tall the dwarves they got to know during their long stay here, held a momentum for the fallen lady of Durin and even though Kili and Fili never truly met their mother, they still mourned for her. Thorin had not been responsive for at least two weeks and even now, he kept to himself most of the time.

He and his two nephews were now the only living descendants of Durin and with that they not only carried the possibility of the gold curse with them, but a heavy burden.

Eventually it became all too much for Thorin to bear and the dwarf decided to travel to the neighbouring towns to clear his head and to regain his survival skills. He still had the nagging feeling that he would need them soon.

Of course Fili and Kili had demanded to come along, but in the end they had promised to stay back and watch out for their fellow dwarves as true sons of Durin would. Dwalin had loudly protested as well, but apparently Balin had talked some sense into his brother. The older dwarf knew that Thorin needed some time after the bad message of his sister's death and Thorin was very grateful for the other's sentiment.

The king without a throne had said his farewell to all the dwarves and promised to return within the next year, safe and still in one piece. It was this autumn when Thorin entered a human pub to get out of the rain that had poured for days now. His clothes had been completely soaked and Thorin had been frozen to the bone and hungry, otherwise he would never had entered the pub.

Of course he was aware of the murderous and sometimes furious stares of the people, even though not everyone seemed to mind his company, especially not one certain fellow, who seat next to him. After closer inspection, Thorin came to the conclusion that the old man, who was currently sitting before him, was a wizard. No normal human would wear such grotesque robes and such a ridiculous head, let alone the staff he was carrying. That and the man had a strange aura around him.

From the man, who turned out to be in fact a wizard, namely Gandalf the grey, Thorin heard about the bounty that was on his head and that the orcs were searching for him. He had scoffed at it, but at least that did explain why some of the darker beings had watched him since he entered. Gandalf then told him of that crazy plan of his and Thorin had agreed, but only at the prospect of ensuring a better future for his nephews and all the dwarves, who still stood loyal to him and Erebor.

Letters were sent and requests were made. He knew that Fili, Kili, Dwalin and Balin would follow his call and he had no doubt that the rest of his strange family would too. And he considered all of the dwarves in the town he once occupied his family; the Ri-brothers, the Ur-family, Oin and Gloin and those who were related by blood.

Had he known back then what this adventure would entail and that their little trip was actually a suicide mission, he would never have agreed. Maybe the little hobbit could have been saved then. Bilbo had bravely thrown himself at the white orc and had given his life so that Thorin had the opportunity to kill the monster, colouring the ice near Erebor red. Maybe Kili would not have lost the ability to ever wield a bow again or maybe Fili would not have lost half his sight. Nori would still be able to walk without assistance and maybe Bifur would still be alive and Bofur would still be laughing. Or Thorin might still be able to live with himself, for it was his fault that so many of his brothers had lost their lives at the battle of the five armies and that included the young hobbit.

Erebor was theirs again, but at what costs? No amount of gold in the world had been worth the lives of all the dwarves, who had fought these days. The only good thing that came out of this suicide mission was the re-established relationship with the elves, which was only thanks to Kili and the elf-maid Tauriel. Somehow not even the fact that it was his nephew, who was head over heels in love with the elf, got to him. It was Kili's choice after all and if he was happy, who was Thorin to forbid it, especially since the red haired elf had rescued his nephew.

As soon as the battle had ended, Thorin had allowed all those, who had participated, to seek shelter in the halls if Erebor. Eventually the elves returned to their own home, Tauriel remained behind, but Thranduil sent resources once in a while. The humans started to rebuild their city at the foot of the mountain and the dwarves repaired their kingdom.

As soon as some of the former glory of the once proud dwarven kingdom was restored, Thorin gave his throne to his nephews and he decided to let a new generation take the lead.

He eventually travelled to the Shire again, to inform Bilbo's family of his departure only to see them greedily take a hold of his belongings. Luckily he was taller and better build than all the hobbits and it was an easy task to force them to return everything to its rightful place and to read out the hobbits last will, which the hobbit had written during their travels. Apparently he had decided to give everything he owned to his own nephew, someone called Frodo. Thorin did not linger to get to know the hobbit, he had other places to visit.

Words spread fast that Erebor was reclaimed and he wanted that his fellow dwarves knew that the words were actually true. That and he desperately wanted to find that cursed wizard and kill that man, for it was all his fault. Just because the old man had feared that the dragon was dead and that orcs would claim Erebor as their base and as strong hold in a war against the other races of Middle Earth, had he even offered his help and made the suggestion. At least all dwarves knew now, that wizards could not be trusted and Fili as well as Kili had made it very clear that Gandalf was not welcomed in Erebor anymore and from what Thorin had gathered, the wizard was not welcome in the Shire anymore either.

(years later)

Thorin sighed at his memories, some of them very distant and most of them rather happy. He was currently sitting in his quarters in Erebor, with his friends Bofur and Dwalin, sitting in the comfortable chair next to him, put to sleep by the warmth of the chimney.

Thorin was getting older and he was starting to feel it in his bones. It only became worse after a very exciting and tiring day with his grand-nephews. Both Kili and Fili had some rascals of their own running around and Thorin was silently pleased that Tauriel's features, even though the woman was beautiful by elven standards, were not the dominant ones. Granted, Kili's daughter sported red hair and his son was moving more graceful than a dwarf his age should, but they were definitely dwarves. And the boy had inherited the Durin temper, just as Fili's two rascals had. Thorin found it very amusing to watch the king of Erebor and his brother and consultant running around Erebor, trying to find their children and preventing them from doing mischief. He felt satisfaction at the thought of his two nephews going through the same hell he had once walked through with them. Of course there were always the happy times and it had all been worth it in the end, but it was still funny to look at; especially since Tauriel seemed to be pregnant again and if the elven healers were to be trusted two more rascals would soon join the ever growing family.

Thorin chuckled. One of his official acts as king had been to officially state the Ur-family, the Ri-brothers as well as Oin and Gloin's families as rightful descendants of Durin and therefore they were all related to Thorin and his nephews. His cousins, Balin and Dwalin had agreed with the idea and somehow the stony halls of the dwarven kingdom did not look so abandoned and cold like they did when Thorin was still young.

Thorin yawned and his eyes grew heavier, while he was staring into the flamed. Life, especially after all they have been through, was finally good…

Well, the story has finally ended and I hope you like my alternative ending.
I would really appreciate if you left a comment and at this point I would like to thank everyone, who read and commented on the story! Thanks for sticking with me guys! ^^