I finished writing this fic! It's twenty chapters long total!


A Merrier Place
Part Three: King Under the Mountain
Chapter Twelve: The Announcement


Bilbo was quite enjoying his stay in Erebor. He had gotten his own rooms in Erebor, with a nice bookshelf and a quality armchair, and dwarven-style clothes to call his own. He spoke with the Company often and had grown quite attached to some of the other inhabitants of the great kingdom, including Thorin's sister, Dís, and Kíli's elven sweetheart, Tauriel. He'd also become friends with Glóin's son and wife, Gimli and Nigrid, and often had dinner with them in their own home.

One day, he was happily dozing in his armchair, a book lying open on his lap. He was half-asleep, thinking about the contents of the book (a cheesy dwarven romance novel), when the thought crossed his mind of how his plants back home were doing.

Suddenly he sat upright, his eyes wide, broken out of his reverie. It had been nearly a year and a half since he had left the Shire! Oh no...his house would be cluttered with dust and the unwashed plates he'd eaten on the day he left would be so filthy he'd have to toss them out! His plants would be dead, and he suspected that his awful cousins, the Sackville-Bagginses, might be sneaking around Bag End and hoping he really was dead so they could steal his house away from him.

Bilbo suddenly missed his home more than he had previously enjoyed living in a restored Erebor with his new friends. He had done what he set out to do. It was time to go home.

He smiled. He would miss Thorin and the rest of the company, for sure, but it was not as if they couldn't write or even visit occasionally. He needed to go home.

Decisively, he stood up and walked out of his rooms, ready to tell Thorin of his decision.

He walked into the king's meeting room to find him laughing with Dwalin about something he had missed. As soon as Thorin saw him, he grinned and beckoned him over.

"Bilbo! Come, sit down!" the king said merrily. Bilbo smiled in return and sat.

"Thorin, I have something to say," he announced.

"Well, what is it?" Thorin asked.

"I've come all this way, and I've helped you regain your home, but the day has come for me to go back to my own home and bid you farewell," he said, and not a little regretfully. He would miss this proud, stubborn, and kind dwarf, and all those who had traveled with him. But it was time to leave.

Thorin's happy smiled crumbled into an expression of dismay. "Realy? But you're happy here, aren't you?"

"Yes, of course!" he said hastily, "but I'll be happier in my home."

"Well, if that truly is the case, I will have to accompany you home," Thorin said firmly. "Fíli can act as ruler in my absence—he will need practice for when he is king, and—"

Before Bilbo could protested that he could go home all on his own, Prince Kíli and his lovely elf maiden Tauriel walked in, bright grins on their faces.

"Uncle Thorin!" Kíli exclaimed. "We have decided to get married, the day after Durin's Day!"

Thorin blinked in shock, and a soft sigh of resignation escaped his lips. Bilbo smiled knowingly.

"Well, this is wonderful news!" Dwalin exclaimed with a nod to Tauriel. "Will you remain here in Erebor?"

"No," Tauriel said. "We were hoping his Majesty could send us on a diplomatic mission after we are wed, so that we might see more of the world."

"That can be arranged," Thorin agreed.

"The whole company is invited, of course," Kíli said. "You included, Bilbo."

He blinked. "Well, I was actually planning on returning to the Shire soon."

"You'll stay for the wedding, of course?" Thorin asked.

Bilbo mulled it over. Though he certainly wanted to go home, he knew that waiting even a few months more would not make much of a difference. And he was very fond of Kíli and his bride-to-be.

"Yes, of course," he agreed.

"Your first diplomatic mission could be to the Shire," Dwalin suggested. "Accompanying Bilbo home."

"Where is Fíli?" Kíli asked, looking around as if he expected to see his brother appear in the meeting room before his eyes.

"He went with Ori and Gimli to the city center," Dwalin said.

"Let's go and tell them the good news!" Kíli said, squeezing his beloved's hand.


After Kíli and Tauriel had left, Thorin rubbed his forehead and let out a sigh.

"What's wrong?" Bilbo asked.

He shook his head. "Nothing, really. Only now I'm really going to have to accept an elf into the family." He made a face, but his heart wasn't really in it.

"I thought you'd already accepted her," Dwalin said, frowning. "After your coronation..."

Thorin shrugged. "Well, Dís talked to me and...she knocked some sense into me." He scratched his head, feeling a little guilty. "I was being foolish, and it was making Kíli very unhappy. I did accept Tauriel, to repair our family, but...I still kind of hoped that she and Kíli weren't really a lasting item."

"How could you think that?" Bilbo said, sounding amused. "They don't go anywhere without the other. They're so in love, it's actually kind of disgusting."

Dwalin laughed, but Thorin only gave the hobbit a sheepish smile. "Still...she's an elf."

"Oh, get over it, Thorin," Dwalin advised. "She's obviously not going anywhere, and she's quite a character. You ought to think of her as a person, not an elf. That'll get you further."

"I suppose you're right," Thorin said ruefully. "After all, it's not like we're enemies with the elves anymore...hm, this might actually be politically advantageous. It will certainly help to repair things with Thranduil."

"There you go," Bilbo said encouragingly.

"So, you're really leaving?" Thorin said to him.

"Well, not until after the wedding," Bilbo said. "I wouldn't miss it. But yes, it's high time I got back home. Who knows what's gone on in the Shire while I've been gone..."

"I meant what I said earlier, you know," Thorin said. "I want to accompany you home."

Bilbo smiled. "Thank you, Thorin, but you don't have to."

"Really, Master Burglar," he insisted. "I'm sure Dwalin and Balin would want to come as well!"

Dwalin nodded. "I would love to, Bilbo. But...if you're really leaving Fíli in charge while you're gone, Thorin, you should leave Balin or I behind to help him out."

Thorin stroked his beard, nodding. "That is true. I'll have to think about it."

"Thank you very much," Bilbo said, nodding in a bemused fashion. "You're very kind."

"So, how do you think the kingdom will feel about the engagement?" Dwalin asked.

Thorin laughed. "Well, if you really want to talk about that..."


Fíli and Gimli stood off to the side of a trinket shop while Ori examined the shop owner's goods. It was nice and cool underneath the mountain, and the bustling populous in the city center made the stone seem almost alive.

He heard a familiar voice calling his name and he turned around to see Kíli and Tauriel holding hands as they approached him. He waved at his brother in greeting.

"Fíli, Fíli!" Kíli exclaimed, beaming. For some reason, he seemed even happier than usual.

"What no greeting for me?" Gimli said in mock hurt.

"Hello, Gimli, and you too, Ori," Tauriel said warmly. The two young dwarves waved at her.

"We have the most excellent news!" Kíli exclaimed. "Tauriel and I are going to be married!"

For a moment, Fíli stood still in shock. He really was going to lose his brother to the elf. Then he grinned from ear to ear, pushing his petty resentments away. What wonderful news!

He laughed and embraced his brother, exclaiming, "Excellent! When's the day?"

"The day after your autumn holiday, Durin's Day," Tauriel told him, as radiant as her fiance.

He let go of Kíli and shook her hand. "Welcome to the royal family, Princess," he said jovially.

She laughed. "I'm glad to see you've finally accepted me, Prince."

"Well, I've had to learn to be less stubborn," he admitted, "and aside from that, you and Kíli are well suited. You are truly a wonderful elf, your Highness."

"Excuse me," Kíli said jokingly, "but Tauriel is my fiancee, not yours, Fíli."

He laughed. "You can keep her. I'm not too interested in taking a wife, let alone taking yours!"

"Congratulations!" Gimli said. Ori had finished his business with the shopkeeper and congratulated the happy couple as well.

"Would you like to walk with us?" the young dwarf invited them.

"Of course," Kíli agreed, and the group of young dwarves and an elf walked through Erebor together.