Standard Disclaimers Apply.

Guess what? I had the week off, so I've got a 10,000+ word chapter for you!

Enjoy!

/Hope Shall Fail/

Eventually Sam, Burb, Fili, Kili, and Ori picked themselves up off the ground and, after a few licks to the face from Doubica and Hercules to wake them from their stupor (the two wargs just grinned obnoxiously at their disgusted looks as the dwarves wiped off their slobber), Dwalin, Nori, and Gimli regained themselves (after the wargs had licked him, their tails wagging because they had never really gotten the chance to meet a child of any race, Gimli started scratching the duo of big babies behind the ears, because they seemed perfectly friendly, if strange, to him, after which point the wargs pushed Dwalin and Nori away and crowded around the kid, content with the attention, huffing when Sam muttered 'attention whores' with a shit eating grin, Burb just covering his mouth and shaking his head) and all of the archers and guards went back to their jobs, though most kept sneaking looks at them, even more confused by Sam and Burb than they had been to begin with.

All of the adults stood back, watching Gimli get loved on by the wargs for a few more minutes before Fili, Kili, and Ori got in on the experience, prompting the two wargs to lay down, their tongues lolling out of their mouths and eyes closed in bliss, as the young dwarrows started scratching them all over (though Kili was trying to get into the saddlebags, and failing, because of the locks on them), and talking to them as they all asked questions, trying to learn more about the pups and how they had met Sam and Burb.

While Fili, Kili, Ori, and Gimli heard Doubica and Hercules' version of how they met Sam and Burb, Dwalin and Nori continued to look at the wargs askance, their eyes shifting between the still smiling Sam and Burb and their unexpected mounts, Nori finally breaking the silence as he asked," Alrigh', how di' thi'," Nori gesticulated at the wargs now licking his little brother, the princes, and Gloin's son, a sight that brought a slightly amused look to his face, because those wargs acted like big puppies, while Dwalin just watched them, still utterly flumoxed by this development," happen? An' why can they talk, eh?"

Sam rolled her eyes as Burb answered," We took them with us when we left Gundabad," Nori and Dwalin's eyes widened as Fili, Kili, Ori, and Gimli (his new cousin was now officially one of the coolest women he knew) looked at the two, surprised, just a little bit, by what they were hearing, Doubica and Hercules' story being confirmed by what they were overhearing from Sam and Burb," they were just weened pups when we took them, but wargs, especially those from Gundabad, grow to rideable size by the time they are four or so months old, although," Burb studied the two young wargs talking with the young dwarves, the two, roughly small horse sized, fuzzballs enjoying the novelty of talking to people besides Sam, Burb, and Nim," they aren't full grown yet," Dwalin and Nori's eyes widened, again, as they looked at the two wargs closely, realizing their paws did not quite fit their size, meaning the already large animals would get even bigger," Doubica, who is the smallest of the three of them," Nori looked at Burb askance again, but did not interrupt him as he continued," will grow to be about the size of a draft horse, while her brothers, especially Goliath, will grow to be a little bigger, about the size of larger draft horses, though Doubica is definitely the one in charge, regardless of her size...hmm," Burb stroked his imaginary beard as he gave Sam a sideways glance, to which she only raised a brow," sounds just like her rider."

Now Sam rolled her eyes dramatically, groaning in exasperation as she made a play swipe at Burb, who just danced away, laughing.

Doubica and Hercules watched Sam and Burb from the corners of their eyes as they continued to talk to the young dwarves, unwilling to let the two people who essentially amounted to their parents out of their sight so soon after finding them again, as they had been dearly missed, especially Sam, though they both rolled their eyes at each other at the two's antics, which would only grow worse when Nim got to Erebor (the dwarves had no idea what they were in for).

"Wai', there are three o' 'em? Is the thir' one Goliath?"

Nori nodded at Dwalin's question (let it never be said that the big warrior was not astute), even as it prompted Hercules and Doubica to tell their new friends about their much larger brother, who was such a dark shade of grey he almost looked black, and how he was a big sweetie, even more of a push over than they were, except in battle.

Sam answered for Burb this time, a smile on her face at the slightly concerned look on Dwalin's face," Aye, there are three and the third is named Goliath," Sam elaborated as Nori raised an eyebrow and Dwalin waited patiently, both obviously wanting to know where Goliath was (as they couldn't quite believe their men had missed two wargs, let alone three) and why they had needed three wargs to begin with," we grabbed three pups initially because we were going to use one for supplies and the other two to ride, but, after we met Nim, he became Goliath's rider," Nori and Dwalin nodded their heads in understanding, glad to hear their men weren't that inept (maybe the problem was that these two wargs were smarter than the average warg?)," so they are both with the caravan, and, trust me, those two are keeping a very close eye on the assassins," the evil grins that Sam, Burb, Dwalin, and Nori got at that thought gave the other six, who were still talking, only a slight pause, for those menacing grins were nothing new to those who knew them best," as for why they can talk," now Sam had the attention of all of the dwarves, the two wargs just watching, bemused, leaning a bit on the younger dwarves to show their new found affection for them and to be a bit ornery, prompting the four lads to lean back on the wargs in order to not be knocked over," all wargs can talk," Nori didn't look surprised, a slightly pleased look on his face as his theory was confirmed, as he had thought wargs might be intelligent enough to talk with the way they acted and hunted, not to mention the fact that they seemed to have alliances with orcs, but, aside from Sam and Burb, he was the one who had the most direct experience with wargs due to his past illicit activities, which was why everyone else looked perplexed by this information," they just talk in the Black Speech because that is what orcs speak, so anyone who doesn't speak it had no idea that they are actually talking, though our three seem to be more intelligent than the average warg," Sam had a sneaking suspicion that not having grown up under the power of Sauron was a contributing factor to that," We taught those two and Goliath to speak Common," she angled her head toward the two wargs who grinned, big, sharp, white smiles as their tails wagged a little harder, proud of themselves for picking up Common so easily (as almost every other language they had learned gave them far more trouble) when they were younger," when they were only a few months old, but that isn't the only language they learned."

The dwarves looked between each other before Sam changed the subject (as she didn't want to get into a discussion of their other adventures quite yet), remembering what they had come down there for to begin with, and not wanting to make her dwarves wait too long, now excited by being able to put her beads in their hair, and tell them more about her adventures, especially some of the people she had met," Anyway, we need to get those saddles, the saddle bags, and my pack off of these two, then go back in and finish the ceremony."

That had all of the dwarves scuttling, and in no time they had both of the saddles off of Doubica and Hercules (who stretched languidly after they were removed, their gaping maws wide open, showing off their teeth, before they both promptly plopped on the ground and started rolling in the dirt, drawing exasperated looks from Sam and Burb, while everyone else just smiled and shook their heads at the oddness of the scene) and each older dwarf had one bag, leaving nothing for Sam, Burb, or Gimli to carry, to which Sam just shook her head and rolled her eyes, especially when Kili stuck his tongue out at her and smiled a big grin.

Sam and Burb then went over to Doubica and Hercules and gave them a once over without all of their gear on, making sure they were alright, and found the two had some sores, mostly from the buckles, but also from the rubbing of some of the straps, from having the saddles on for so long without them being taken off.

Sam stood rubbing the warg's heads apologetically as Burb looked more closely (shadowed by Gimli, who was curious about the wargs and wanted to know how an orcish healer worked differently from a dwarvish one, since everyone else was standing by being weighed down by their bags) at their injuries, sighing as he said," I'm gonna need to come down here later and put some salve on these to help them heal, but other than that you two will be fine."

"We could have told you that, but thanks anyway."

Burb rolled his eyes and smiled as Hercules nuzzled him and Doubica giggled at her brother's sarcasm and flippant attitude, it never ceased to amuse Sam and Doubica and slightly annoy Burb, because he always did it when he was talking about their health because Burb tended to talk out his diagnoses, sometimes stating the obvious in the process, which was why Hercules often times felt the need to point it out.

Soon the wargs were safely ensconced in the stables with the ponies that served the kingdom (giving the poor stable master a heart attack when he saw the wargs walking in with the Captain of the Guard and Spymaster asking if there were any open stalls for them, then staring and passing out when Doubica, Hercules, and the ponies, as they could somehow smell that the two wargs had never eaten a horse and were therefore not a threat, something Sam and Burb had taught them from a young age so they didn't piss off anyone by killing their horses for food, got along just fine, nuzzling their noses against each other, and then the two had just curled up on some hay in a corner, going to sleep with the promise of leftovers from the feast being brought down for them later) while Sam, Fili, Kili, Burb, Gimli, Dwalin, and Nori headed back up to their family.

/All Shall Fade/

Thorin was the last member of the Company, of their family, to receive one of Sam's beads. He stood with his back to her as she braided one of her beads into his hair and finally, finally, they were all a family, the king turning around and kissing her forehead before presenting her to their family, Sam looking at all of the people she loved, her beads shining in their hair as their's twinkled in hers.

Sam had woven beads into the hair of her family in the reverse order they had done so for her. In her absence to retrieve her beads her family had all gone and retrieved the rest of their own beads (it was a simple matter for Dis and Thorin to weave the others into Fili and Kili's hair, while Dori did the same for Ori and Nori, Dala for Gimli and Balin for Dwalin) as they felt that, after the ceremony, they needed to be blatant in stating their family ties so that those who would cause trouble with members of the Company would think twice.

So Sam wove her bead under that of the Royal Family in a small lock on the side of each Broadbeam's face as they stood around her in a circle (Bofur had his hat in his hands, revealing his bad case of hat hair from wearing it all the time, which only made them all shake their heads and smile, because of course Bofur would have perpetual hat hair), their thick, coarse hair familiar in look, but not texture (as she had never really touched it because that would have been inappropriate according to dwarven custom), and she looked forward to making it familiar to her as she matched Bifur's salt and pepper braids to those he already had in his hair before the old dwarf put up the I Love You sign and they pressed their fingers together, a fierce hug following the familiar gesture. Sam went on to twirl a side of Bofur's mustache around her finger with an ornery, if slightly watery, grin, making him grin back, his eyes bright, before adding in the bead. Bombur's carrot colored hair turned out to be softer than that of his brother and cousin, the cook's eyes shining as he watched Sam's nimble fingers twist about in his hair before she kissed the top of his bald head. Sam smoothed their plaits back into place before kissing Bofur, Bombur, and Bifur's foreheads and then pressing hers to theirs again, tears once more in all of their eyes as they finished the ceremony.

Sam added her bead to a small wisp of hair that Dori and Ori had freed from Nori's elaborate hairstyle, just for this purpose (the rest of his beads were evenly dispersed through the points of his hair and beard), Nori's eyes soft as she finished the more complicated, decorative braid she put in his hair, keeping with his style (but he missed her right hand disappearing for a moment as she stroked his face fondly). Nori and Ori then helped Dori free a bit of hair for Sam to use, the eldest Ri's eyes watering again, and, as soon as Sam gave him a similarly decorative braid as she had given Nori, he grabbed her up in a bear hug again, making her laugh as he picked her up while Nori and Ori told her they told her so. Then it was Ori's turn, and Sam put her bead in one of the braids near his left temple, weaving a little of the purple string he had in his hair into the braid, making it entirely Ori. Then Sam did the same as she had done with the Broadbeams with the brothers Ri, she kissed their foreheads and touched hers to all of their, and once again the ceremony was finished.

Sam added her beads to Gloin, Oin (a second bead being woven in behind the first, to lay in wait until the tinkle of a bell met their ears later), and Dala's beards, the two men full of pride for their lass as Dala simply smiled a warm smile at Sam as she added some more sparkle to her beard, and, before she could braid one into Gimli's hair, Gloin and Oin picked her up and tossed her in the air, earning small shriek and a laugh from their lass, though they were forced to put her down when Dala grabbed both of their ears and told them to let her finish before celebrating. Then Sam finally got to Gimli and wove a bead into his hair, at which point he bowled her over with a big hug, a big grin on his face before smacking her in the forehead with his own again as they lay in a pile on the floor, prompting his mother to sigh, tug his ear as she had his father and uncle, then haul Sam to her feet (she was a lot stronger than she looked) and give her a kiss on the forehead and cheek before carefully pushing their foreheads together, only for their silly men to join in as Sam was scooped up in another group hug.

Balin and Dwalin stood side by side, their backs straight, smiles on their faces, and happiness in their eyes as Sam came over to them. None of the three of them had ever thought that night they met in Bad End, talking about bleu cheese in Bilbo's pantry, would lead to this, it had never even occurred to them as a possibility, but here they were, with Sam about to weave her bead into their beards (because neither of them had enough hair on their heads to braid anything there), and everything was about to change, but likely not the way they thought they were. Sam braided her bead into Dwalin's beard first, stroking one of his cheeks with her a thumb before pressing her forehead to his, both of their eyes watering (though the tough warrior did not shed a tear, which made Sam smile and shake her head a bit) as the former master and student became family, Dwalin picking her up and twirling around with her in his arms, laughing, before putting her down, giving her a last squeeze before pushing her towards Balin. The old dwarf took Sam's hands in his own before she put her bead into his beard, tugging her face down to his face, cupping it in his hands and pressing their foreheads together, and, with their foreheads still together, the scholar so, so glad that this bright young woman who had returned the light to their world was now theirs to protect and love, without fear of reproach, and Sam wove her bead into Balin's beard.

But, unknown to anyone in the room, except for maybe Burb (though his eyes were not on Sam at the moment), Sam wove another bead and a single, silver bell, into Balin's beard, deeper in the snow white whiskers so it wouldn't be jostled until he made an abrupt movement, at which point much would revealed.

Sam then moved onto the Royal Family, and she smiled, relaxed for what felt like the first time since she had returned to the Mountain, because she would be able to protect her family more easily now, and because she was being allowed to claim, Fili, Kili, Thorin, and Dis as family, was being given that honor and all of the responsibility that went with it, and she was proud of them, and herself, for how far they had all come and she knew they would all do well with what was yet to come to pass in the years to come.

So Sam wove a bead into Dis' hair before, the 'dam taking a cue from her older cousin, she took Sam's hands in her own, an entirely fond and loving look in her eyes as she pressed her forehead to Sam's, a lone tear falling from both of their eyes as Dis said, a shimmering smile on her face," Welcome to the family, my child."

The two women embraced, Dis pushing some of Sam's hair out of her face before kissing Sam on the forehead and sending her off to her sons, wondering what her youngest would do.

Fili and Kili.

What did one do with Fili and Kili?

All Sam could do was smile a very watery smile at her two dear friends before Fili stepped forward and gave her a long, strong hug, just holding her close, the poor prince a bit overcome with emotion, so glad that feeling that he had had in Bag End had turned out right, that Sam was truly going to be the sister he had loved her as since soon after they had set out from the Shire, the golden prince finally saying, after a few moments of holding Sam, her embrace just as fierce as his own, for she felt the same way he did," I am so proud, so happy, to claim you as my sister, even though you have been one to me long before now," the Crown Prince smiled at Sam again before standing back, pride in his eyes as he presented Sam with one of his braids to weave her bead into. After Sam had woven the bead into Fili's hair, he hugged her again, burying his face in her neck before letting her go, and nudging Kili into action.

Kili, unlike his normal, energetic self, slowly, his eyes locked on Sam's, his chocolatey brown eyes looking into her jade green ones, took Sam's hands in his own, a small smile on his face, and tugged her closer. Sam looked down at Kili as she moved closer to him, one of her eyebrows quirked at him, and allowed her face to fall towards his upturned face, their foreheads meeting and the tips of their noses touching as they shared breath, their eyes completely focused on each other (Sam had no idea what she was doing, but it felt right, so she went with it).

Sam and Kili looked at each other for a few moments before Kili brought a hand up and, with a feather light touch, ran his hand along Sam's cheek, Sam following the gesture by bringing her hands up and cupping Kili's face and kissing his forehead, and then Sam finally claimed him with a bead, though Sam had a fleeting thought that she did not want to claim him as a brother, but possibly something else (though she didn't dwell on that thought anymore than she had the thoughts she had after the fountain incident).

Kili then put his forehead to Sam's one last time, and kissed her cheek (drawing a few raised eyebrows, as that was not something Kili usually did to anyone), and let her go.

This brings us back to Thorin, now presenting Sam to the Company as family to them all.

It was the happiest they had all been in a long time, little did they know they were about to find more reasons to be happy.

"Alrigh' everyone," everyone turned toward the beaming Bofur, who had done a fist bump in the air when he started talking, doing a little excited jig (drawing out quite a few giggles and exasperated, if fond, sighs from the Company) as Bombur began to head toward the door, determined to make sure everything in their feast was ready before everyone got to the dining room while Bifur was tugging Burb in the same direction, both ready to eat, drink, and be merry for the first time as a family," let's get thi' party started!"

Everyone cheered again, eager to begin the festivities that went along with adopting someone, only for, when they all began to move towards the door, the tinkling of a bell to be heard.

/May It Be An Evening Star/

Everyone in the room stopped, looking around for the source of the tinkling, as they did not know where it could be coming from and thought it was more than a little odd, but it had stopped as soon as they had all stopped moving, so they shrugged and continued to walk towards the door, only for it to sound again.

Nori and Dwalin looked at each other, now concerned that someone who was not supposed to be there had gotten into the room, only for the tinkling to be heard again as they, Balin, and Thorin moved toward each other to share their thoughts on this development.

Sam and Burb looked at each other, small smiles on their faces as their family attempted to determine the source of the noise, both knowing (though Burb had not known Sam was going to do it so soon) where the bell was, and what it meant.

Fili and Kili walked over to their uncle, Balin, Dwalin and Nori (neither of the dynamic duo tinkling) and everyone began to realize that one person had to have a bell on them and it was likely one of the four who had moved. The rest of the Company meandered over to the four, Sam standing beside Balin while Burb stood near her, ready to begin explaining what was going on when they figured it out, though Balin would probably understand as soon as he saw the extra bead and the bell.

Fili and Kili, along with everyone else, were now examining the four influential dwarves, looking carefully for the bell, as they knew it wasn't any sort of jewelry or ornamentation that had come loose that was making that noise, on their clothes first, then moving on to their hair, everyone wondering when in the world a bell could have been attached to any of them, and why.

Sam and Burb were trying not to smile now (though they were getting sideways glances from Fili and Kili, who always seemed to sense when someone else was up to something), as everyone looked flabbergasted, Thorin, Nori, Dwalin, and Balin (though there was some sadness in his eyes) beginning to look a little annoyed, all of them beginning to take a turn moving to see who jingled, only for them all to stare at Balin when he was the one that jingled, the sadness in his eyes becoming more pronounced, making him look even older than he really was.

Thorin, Dwalin, Dis, Oin, and Gloin all got somewhat pained expressions on their faces, a sadness in their eyes (though it was not terribly obvious) when they realized that Balin was the one jingling, memories of a time long past coming to mind as they remembered the last time someone had put a bell on Balin, all of them missing the free spirited soul who had done so, wondering who would be so cruel as to bring up that memory now, and the loss attached to it, on what was supposed to be such a happy occasion (even though they had no clue if anyone but themselves had any knowledge of the person the bell reminded them of).

Balin sighed a tired sigh and began to run his fingers through his beard, looking for the bell, and finding it, taking it out of the loose braid it was held in, not feeling the bead that was next to it.

It was then he looked up, and noticed the soft, slightly sad smile on Sam's face, the old dwarf connecting the dots and realizing that Sam had to have been the person to put the bell in his beard.

At Balin's look, one of confusion and a little bit of hurt (which made Sam feel a little guilty for hurting her dear friend, even though she knew it was for a good reason), the rest of the dwarves in the room looked at Sam, the previously jubilant atmosphere now a little subdued, those who understood wondering what in the world had gotten into Sam that she would play this little prank (as they knew she was not given to simple pranks, more prone to sarcasm and outsmarting people than anything) on Balin at such an important point, even though none of them knew that Sam understood why the bell brought back painful memories.

Thorin, Dwalin, Dis, and Gloin all stood by, their shoulders a little slumped, remembering others they had lost that had never returned, as Oin looked off past his family once more reminded of who he had lost alongside the one Balin had lost.

Nori, sensing the tension in the room, though he wasn't exactly sure why a bell was bothering so many of them, especially his lover, so much (Oin, Gloin, Balin, Dwalin, Thorin, and Dis all looked a little grieved, as if by a pain long since past, making the former thief more than a little concerned for them, not used to any of them being despondent since Sam had woken up, grumpy, yes, sad, no), spoke, a small smirk on his face and a little pride in his voice, even as his eyes betrayed his curiosity, asking," Well, that's a nice show o' skill there Sam," Sam looked at Nori, the look in her eyes telling the crafty dwarf that something else was definitely going on here, though he didn't know what yet, the rest of the Company just sitting and watching, trying to figure out what was going on, though most of them kept their happy attitudes, even if they were a little less happy at the moment," bu' isn'a i' a odd time ta' be showin' off?"

Sam just winked at Nori, drawing a raised eyebrow from him as she turned to Balin, everyone now intrigued," This isn't me showing off, Nori, though you might want to look in your pocket to see how I have," Nori's eyes went wide, understanding her meaning, and he began searching his pockets, finding, to the astonishment of everyone in the room, a little box with a piece of parchment on it with Nori's name in Sam's scrawl, making them all wonder what she had been up to while she had been gone that would let her practice her skills to the point that she could pull a fast one on the Spymaster.

Balin smiled a bit at Sam's show of skill, proud of her for taking another of the things she had learned from them and mastering it, knowing she had not meant to bring up old hurts when she had played her innocent little prank, as there was no way she could have known what it meant to him, memories of a tinkling laugh and shining eyes coming to the forefront of his mind as he said, his voice subdued, betraying to everyone who did not know that something was wrong," Good job, Sam-lass, very good job," Balin smiled more honestly at the gaping expression on Nori's face as Ori tried not to laugh and Dori looked just as stumped as his brother," I dare say our Spymaster might have some competition if you've become so skilled at slight of hand."

Nori's incredulous expression at Balin's words just broke some of the tension in the room, smiles just coming to the faces of the dwarves as Nori tried to look insulted and Sam just stuck her tongue out at the dwarf, knowing she was probably going to be subject to some tests now to show her skill to Nori, who now felt he should step up his game if he was so easily fooled and distracted (though he would probably feel like he had quite the advantage over other people once he actually opened his gift).

"Are you alright, Balin?"

Kili looked at his old teacher with concern, finally realizing, despite the lightening of Balin's face at ribbing Nori, along with Fili and Ori, that something about the bell, not the prank or the previously perceived possibility of a threat, was bothering Balin, grieving him for some reason.

Balin took on a somewhat chagrined, his good humor fading, if still grieved, expression as he waved off the concern of his family, nodding at Dwalin as he put a hand on his shoulder in comfort, the giant of a dwarf looking pained himself, Balin elaborating at the still concerned expressions on the younger dwarves, especially as they noticed Oin's distress, even as Thorin and Dis sighed, looking over at Gloin, who was focused on his brother, trying to comfort Oin in the same way Dwalin was attempting to Balin," It's nothing, lad, nothing for you to worry over at least," Balin glanced at Sam, smiling at her apologetic expression to let her know she was forgiven, even as he looked down at the little bell in his hand," this little bell...it just reminds me of things better left in the past, that's all, something Sam could not have known when she wove it into my beard."

"On the contrary, my friend," Balin looked up at Sam, once more confused, even as Sam looked at him tenderly, glad to finally be able to tell him the good news," I was told it might elicit such a reaction from you."

Dwalin was searching Sam's eyes for some clue as to what was going on, the warrior too used to Sam's roundabout way of communicating things to be angry with her for dredging up bad memories, but still bothered by this development," Then why di' ya' do i'?"

Sam's eyes twinkled as she looked at Dwalin, then at Balin, and smiled," I did it because a very special 'dam asked me to," when Sam noticed they weren't connecting the dots, as they were all looking at her with disbelieving eyes, because the only other 'dam who could have told her about the significance of silver bells in Balin's beard was dead, she added," if you don't believe me, them look at the other bead I put in you beard, Balin, you too Oin."

Now everyone's eyes widened, because it was incredibly rude and inappropriate to braid another person's beads into someone's hair without their permission.

And they all knew Sam knew that.

So, the question was, why did Sam do it to both Oin and Balin?

/Shines Down Upon You/

Balin and Oin both ran their fingers through their beards, found the extra beads, took them out, and promptly stared at them, in utter shock.

In Oin's hand was a yellow gold bead with a shield and a two handled battle axe with diamond chips around the border.

In Balin's hand was a white gold bead with a spinning wheel, a loom, and a bolt of cloth on it, with an array of chips of different colored stones set in the background.

Oin's head shot up, a cold feeling clenching his heart before he was filled with warmth, knowing that Sam would not give him this bead in such a manner if it did not mean something he had never hoped to be true, so the old healer stared at Sam with hope, disbelief, and joy that was slowly making it's way to the surface as he whispered," It can't be," as Oin shook his head minutely, still staring at Sam, who just smiled more brightly, a small smile beginning to form on his face as Gloin took a look at the bead, and his jaw dropped, prompting him to look at Sam with shock on his features, wondering how in the world it could be possible, when they had not had any reason, all those years ago, to believe the reports weren't true.

And then Balin confirmed what Gloin could not believe was true, by saying a name he had not heard since before Smaug had attacked the Mountain," Persinia."

Dwalin, Thorin, and Dis' eyes went wide, Dis bringing her hands up to her mouth, as they looked between Balin and Oin, then at Sam and Burb, who were both smiling sly, but happy, smiles.

Balin and Oin were both just staring at Sam and Burb now, unable to believe this was happening, that the people they had lost might yet live.

Then Balin asked, still utterly stupified," How...when...," Balin's eyes searched Sam's as he asked," My wife is still alive?"

It was everybody else's (who wasn't old enough to know or hadn't known them at the time) turn now to be floored, the Broadbeams, Fili, Kili, Gimli, the brothers Ri, and Midala all now staring at Balin, milling around he and Oin as they were, as none of them had known (the same way Sam hadn't known originally) that Balin had been married at any point, let alone that she had died, or they had thought she was dead.

"And my Remy, he lives too?"

Oin and Balin looked so desperate for it to be true, even as some of their family just looked even more confused (as many of them had never known a time when Oin was not married to his work, so for him to have been married at one point meant he had loved this Remy more than anything), for their Ones to still live, after so long believing them dead, their eyes watering and small tremors beginning to wrack their frames as Sam said," Yes, Oin, Balin, both Remy and Persinia are still alive. They've been in Rhun all this time."

Thorin and Dwalin (both of whom were floored by this development, but incredibly excited and happy, because these were people who had known them in their youth, so their memories of them were unmarred by death and war, that they would get to see Remy and Persinia again, as both had been dearly missed by all who knew them in their absence, and Dwalin really missed his sister-in-law, because she had loved his brother with all her heart, but she had always treated Dwalin like her own little brother, and they had the bond to match) grabbed one of Balin's arms each as the old dwarf looked like he was ready to collapse he was so happy, so elated that Persinia was alive, that the 'dam that had owned his heart and made him laugh like no one else ever could, with her constant tricks (like putting a bunch of little silver bells in his beard while he was sleeping), was still alive and well in Rhun.

Oin was leaning heavily on Gloin (who could barely believe that their lass, the lass they thought was dead for a year just for her to pop back into their lives, was now telling them that Oin's husband and Balin's wife were still alive, the younger son of Groin glad to hear that his brother-in-law was alive and that the lively dwarrowdam that was Persinia was still alive as well, knowing that their return would be as life changing as their loss had been for his brother and cousin), barely processing that his husband, the warrior dwarf who had been a member of the City Guard that he had met by chance when he was still learning his craft, was still alive.

And Remy and Persinia had sent Burb and Sam to tell them they were alive.

"Wait, you two were married? And you thought your spouses were dead?"

Bifur was not the one they had thought would voice those questions (everyone had thought it would be Kili who asked), but, ever since regaining his ability to speak in Common, he did not waste his opportunities to speak his mind.

Oin and Balin looked at their friend and smiled, noting the expressions of curiosity and concern of those they had left in the dark for years to avoid talking about the loss of their Ones, and, after a nod from Oin, who was still speechless (an issue Balin seldom had), Balin gently pried his arms from Thorin and Dwalin, patting them both on the shoulder, then turned to Sam and Burb and enveloped them both in a hug (Burb a little surprised because he had had very little physical contact with most of the dwarves, but pleased nonetheless) before answering Bifur's questions, tears about ready to flow down his face," Yes, Bifur, we were both married, long before Smaug came," tears really were going down Balin's face now, Sam wrapping her arms around Balin's neck and giving him a hug as he continued to speak, one of his hands coming up to grip her arm in gratitude and affection," Persinia, my Persi, was the daughter of a prominent cloth merchant who I met while learning the art of negotiation from my father," Balin grinned like a young dwarrow as he remembered the first time he had met his wife, how his father had cajoled him for staring at the beautiful lass, the expression on his face reminding everyone of Fili and Kili for a second, wondering just what Balin had been like as a young dwarrow," we hit it off from the start, our courtship full of laughter and good fun," Balin smiled as Dwalin grumbled about their mushy nonsense, in his eyes as a young dwarrow at the time, the old complaint making Thorin bite his lip to keep from laughing at the memories of Dwalin's complaining about his brother becoming a sop, especially given the irony since Balin said the same thing now about Dwalin and Nori, though it was mostly as payback for all of his whining back in the day," and were married within a few years," Balin's face fell a little as he remembered how he had lost her.

"My Perci was, is," Balin smiled again," a very headstrong and confidant 'dam, though she has always had a soft heart, if a firm hand," Sam, Dwalin, Burb, Thorin, Dis, Gloin, and Oin all smiled at that, as all of them had been subject to Perci's tough love at one point or another," and she did not like being told she could not do something, so, even though she was told, repeatedly by many, many dwarves, and humans of Dale, that it was too dangerous to go to Ered Mithrin for trade because of a slew of recent orc attacks, for by that time she was a prominent cloth merchant and weaver in her own right, without a double in the amount of guards assigned to the caravan," Thorin, Dis, Dwalin, Oin, and Gloin all nodded, remembering the way Perci had been determined to go, even without the interference of the king," but, because this was just a year or so before Smaug came, the king," Balin looked apologetically at Thorin and Dis, who simply shrugged, sadly," did not want to spend any more money or assign anymore men than was necessary to support trade between the two kingdoms, but also did not want to waste the window to travel from Erebor to Ered Mithrin due to a lack of willing merchants. So my Perci, as she had been asked by King Thor to head the caravan since she was so determined to go, was given the task to find willing merchants to go on the dangerous journey, on the condition that she would find additional guards to go along that would not cost the kingdom more money."

"And that is where my Remy comes in," Oin took over with a nod from Balin, Gimli attaching himself to his uncle's side to comfort the obviously emotional dwarf, Oin proud to finally tell his nephew about the uncle he had never been able to meet," he was a captain of a contingent of guards within the Mountain," Dwalin smiled a bit at the memory of his cousin-in-law back in those days, as a son of Fundin Dwalin was not involved in the guard, but was being trained to be a soldier and commander within the army of Erebor, and to help his brother with his political duties, but that had never stopped Remy from giving him and Thorin pointers, as he had been much more experienced than the two at the time, or sparring with them, and they had both learned quite a bit from Remy, and they had grieved his loss as greatly as they had Persi's," and Persi asked Remy if he and some of his men would volunteer to protect the caravan," Oin shook his head, remembering how he and his husband had discussed the trip, and all of the risks that went with it, before he had given Persi his answer," and, Remy, unwilling as he always was to refuse help to those who needed it, especially since it was Balin's wife asking, and the two had always gotten along splendidly, said yes," Oin and Balin looked at each other, lost in the memories of the day they said farewell to their loves, the last time they had held and kissed them as they said goodbye and got into their wagon, waving to them from the battlements until they were out of sight, even then watching the direction they had left to before Thorin, Frerin, Gloin and Dwalin (the original quartet of trouble makers long before Fili, Ori, Kili, and Gimli were born) had dragged them back inside, knowing it would be months before they heard from them again.

Balin spoke again," Remy had promised to keep Persi safe and Persi had promised to keep Remy from doing anything reckless," those who had known Remy smiled, as they all knew how infamous he was for taking on more than he could chew, resulting in his family, namely Oin, a much younger Gloin, Dwalin, Thorin, Dis, Frerin, and Balin, would be left to get him out of trouble, though they all usually had a good laugh about it later," so, at the beginning of spring, they and the rest of the caravan set out for Ered Mithrin," Balin's shoulders slumped again, Sam's hug only getting tighter as he told the story (that she and Burb had already heard from Persi and Remy themselves) from his perspective," but, we got word, the month we were expecting them to return the following fall, that their caravan had been attacked by orcs, and there were no survivors...We had little time to grieve for them, though, as Smaug attacked not long after, and we had to leave Erebor."

Balin sighed in the silence that had fallen over the room, regaining himself, everyone now a bit subdued from learning of the suffering of their dear healer and politician, before Balin turned around and looked at Sam and Burb, some wonder in his eyes as he asked," But they didn't die in the raid, they somehow got to Rhun..."

Oin picked up where Balin had trailed off," How did that happen?"

"And why didn't they come home?"

Now that was the million dollar question, and it was one that would take a lot of explaining to answer sufficiently.

/May It Be When Darkness Falls/

Burb spoke first, feeling he could best help his dwarves (he was going to have to get used to calling them that, but he had a feeling that wouldn't take long, as they were his family now, and he couldn't help how warm that made him feel, how right it sounded) understand the behavior of his fellow orcs," The orcs in that area of Middle Earth have...well, I suppose you could call them trade agreements, but only very loosely," Nori, Dwalin, Oin, Balin, and Thorin's eyes narrowed, thinking they might know where this was going, having heard rumors in their travels after the fall of Erebor," with Haradrim tribes and some Dunlanders to capture people from caravans in other parts of Middle Earth and take them to Harad and Dunland to be sold as slaves," now that got a reaction out of everyone in the room, anger taking over the features of the bunch of normally congenial dwarves, Oin and Balin both going white as sheets when they heard that, fearing what their loved ones could have been put through at the hands of the enemies of the free peoples of Middle Earth, though a shake of his head and a smile from Burb made them relax, taking it as a sign that Remy and Persi had never actually been slaves," In the slave markets of the far East and South each race, gender, and skill has a different value, and the price of a given slave is based on the combination of these characteristics. Dwarves and elves, however, are always the hardest to obtain and in the most demand because of their innate skills in a variety of crafts, whereas humans are usually used for manual labor, household staff, or...more...obscene things," that did not surprise the dwarves in the room, though it did sicken them, Thorin now plotting ways to stop any such activity that he could, Nori and Dwalin of the same mind as they both flicked their eyes towards their king, all of them agreeing in that moment that they would come up with a way to prevent such things from occurring within Erebor's sphere of influence.

"Now, I said that these agreements that exist between these humans and orcs for the procurement of slaves only loosely qualify as trade agreements because they are primarily trades of opportunity, they do not happen often nor on a regular basis because orcs, when they raid caravans, villages, and the like they usually don't take hostages or prisoners, because they usually have no need of them, and, truthfully, they think they are more trouble than they are worth," these were not the kinds of things about orcs that Gimli thought he might be learning today, and he would have been perfectly happy not to learn them until he was older," but, when they have had a lean year, or they find someone with some skill or characteristic that would bring too good of a price in the slave markets for them to pass up, then they do capture people and sell them," Burb looked at Balin and Oin apologetically, knowing this information was distressing them, but they needed to understand how these things worked, because the two always did best when they had as much information as they could get, to deal with their emotions and the situation, and to understand how Remy and Persi had survived," unfortunately, Persi and Remy's caravan fell into the latter category, the orc bands that had been raiding the caravans that year had probably been in dire need of something, whether it be medicine or something else, that they could get nowhere else but from humans, so they were raiding any caravan they could get their hands on, and a caravan full of dwarven craftsmen and warriors was the proverbial jackpot."

Burb could see the wheels turning in the minds of the dwarves in front of him as Sam continued to hug Balin and Gimli comforted his uncle, though Gloin and Dala stood near Oin and Dwalin had not budged from beside his brother, the princes, princess, and king all fuming as were the Broadbeams and brothers Ri (Nori went to stand near his lover and offer him, and his brother, support), all of them deeply bothered by this information, and the fact that it was still a thriving problem, every one of them trying to figure out ways to stop the horrible practice.

Burb continued his explanation of what had happened to Persi and Remy's caravan," What happened was that a large group of orcs, possibly more than a few clans that had made agreements between themselves or a tribe, which is just a bunch of orcs living and working together that may or may not be related, attacked the caravan after they had made camp for the night and most of the caravan was asleep, and then knocked out as many warriors as they could, only killing those who resisted too much because they were worth more alive, then they rounded up all of the crafts people, put everyone in chains," that just made the dwarves even more angry," and then started the long trek to the slave markets."

" 'ow did Persi an' Remy get captured? Neither o' them is a pushover in a figh', so 'ow did i' 'appen?"

Dwalin's question, asked with a face full of concern for his family, was answered by Sam, as Burb did not yet have the ability to gauge the emotional state of their dwarves yet, so she was the better choice for delivering more personal, possibly upsetting, information," Remy wasn't on guard that night, so he was in the wagon with Persi, sleeping, when the attack started," Balin and Oin nodded, everyone listening intently," as soon as he heard the alarm he put on some armor and grabbed that ginormous, absurdly heavy two-handed battle axe of his," Sam rolled her eyes and shook her head, remembering when the old guard had attempted to show her how to use the damn thing and she had about fallen over it was so heavy and unwieldly, which had only made Remy fall over laughing as Persi told him to stop messing with her, because he knew damn well she wasn't big enough nor strong enough to wield the damn thing, though the 'dam, nor Burb, Nim, Goliath, Doubica, or Hercules, could contain her own laughter at the scene, Sam's expression drawing a few chuckles (mostly from Oin, Dwalin and Thorin, who had had the same problem trying to wield the axe, when the latter two were younger, several chuckles also coming from Burb, as he remembered Sam's frustration with that particular weapon) and raised eyebrows from the dwarves, whom were slightly amused, despite the subject they were talking about," and headed out the door of their wagon, and jumped into the fray, while Persi grabbed her own dagger, short sword, and bow before sneaking out of the wagon and beginning to help Remy by picking off unawares orcs in whatever way she could," Balin and Oin looked a little proud at that," but, alas, eventually Persi got captured, probably because some of the orcs realized that some of their men were missing, and they pay more attention to the scents of females than males as a general rule when they are raiding, and when Persi got captured, Remy was the only dwarf not yet captured, so, to keep his promise to you, Balin, to keep her safe, he surrendered," a sigh left both Balin and Oin, neither surprised by Remy's devotion to his promise, small smiles on their faces at the behavior of their lovers, glad that they had stuck together and protected each other," and, the next day, they set off."

Burb took back over now, noticing the lack of surprise, and some pride, about the behavior of the two dwarves that were married to members of the Company, as all of them, the quality of dwarves they were and those they held dear to them were as well, would have demanded they do the same," So, with that many prisoners and orcs traveling together, and all of the issues and delays that could come from that situation, specially with no mounts and the disposition of their prisoners," some dark chuckles emanated through the group, as they could all attest to dwarves making horrible prisoners, stubborn and defiant as they were by nature," it would take quite a while for them to get to the slave markets, at least a year, probably more, especially considering the route they took," Burb smiled then, because, while everyone tried to puzzle out why it would take a year or longer from Ered Mithrin to Harad, when they had gotten from the Shire to Erebor in only six months, a smaller party though it was, he was about to tell them the best part of this story, showcasing just how well Balin and Oin had chosen their Ones," and it was during that time, that Persi and Remy planned their escape," now that had everyone else grinning too," however," their smiles fell a little," you must understand, this was a more than year long trek with a bunch of orcs, so some of the prisoners died in transit," they all knew that was a fact of life where orcs, that were not Burb, were concerned," but, Persi and Remy tried to save as many of them as they could," everyone nodded, understanding how such situations worked.

"So, the orcs had been going through the Misty Mountains, after giving a wide berth to Mount Gundabad on their way there, went down the length of them, so they could stop off in Dunland, and then head to Harad, South of Gondor, by going through the Ered Nimrais, the White Mountains, with the intent to run into the least humans, especially at the Gap of Rohan, dwarves, and elves as possible," everyone nodded again, knowing that the Misty Mountain range went all the way North to connect with Ered Mithrin and went South past Loth Lorien, Fangorn, and Isengard where they connected to the Ered Nimrais mountain range that made up northern border of Gondor and southern border of Rohan, it no mystery now why it would take a year or longer to get to their destination given the windy paths through the mountains they would have had to take and constantly being harassed by the goblins that called them home," no one was sold in Dunland, as they had been hard by the winter that year and had not the money to spare to pay the hefty price for the dwarves from the caravan," all of the older dwarves nodded, remembering that miserable winter," so they got to the White Mountains, and all this time Persi and Remy had been planning different kinds of escapes based on the information they gathered, testing their captors, taking note of their guard routines, the weaknesses of individuals, biding their time until the conditions were right, but always having to keep in mind their surroundings and what their weakened comrades, from months of ill treatment, constant travel, and lack of proper provisions, would be able to handle during and after their escape, not to mention they had to figure out how to get home and get supplies in the meantime."

Burb shook his head at the stupidity of some of his kin, drawing raised eyebrows from some of the dwarves, until he elaborated, and even they could not believe the stupidity of the orcs that had captured so many intelligent dwarves," And then, the orcs did something incredibly, and I mean amazingly, stupid, they decided to camp out in what had once been a dwarven, let me repeat that, dwarven, mining settlement," some of the dwarves gaped while others simply face palmed, because, yes, some orcs really were that stupid," the perfect opportunity, and they did not waste their chance," Burb shook his head once more at the ridiculousness of the situation that Persi and Remy found themselves in before continuing," by that point they knew how they would distract the guards and all of the other orcs, a member of the caravan had the ability to throw his voice, so he threw it outside of the entrance to the overhang under which they had made their camp, making it sound as if there were a large group of orcs coming their way, which prompted them all to go toward the entrance of the settlement, none of them having noticed the mine shafts behind some of the dilapidated structures, at which point all of the dwarves, chains and all, ran for it," everyone was tense, knowing that at least Persi and Remy had survived their escape attempt doing nothing to quell the feelings the events elicited," only needing to knock out a few orcs with their chains before they got to the tunnels, a few arming themselves with the weapons on the fallen orcs, including Remy, who took his axe back from the bugger who had been trying to use it, and Persi, the dwarves were so quiet and the orcs were so focused on protecting their catch that they didn't notice for a few minutes that they had escaped, and, by then the dwarves had gotten far enough in that the orcs would have a hard time finding them, even with their better sense of smell and eyesight in the dark."

Now Sam took over the telling, giving Oin and Balin kisses on their temples before saying," The orcs ran into the tunnels and tried to find the dwarves, to no avail, because they had a few former miners that dealt in unworked stone and gems in the caravan, and they helped the others get rid of their chains with left behind picks and other mining equipment, hiding their scent by rubbing the sulphur that was the reason the mines had been abandoned into their clothes, knowing the orcs would not be able to discern their scent if they, and everything else in the mines, smelled of sulphur," now the Broadbeams looked a little proud of their fellow miners for helping save the caravan, the rest of the Company shaking their heads, unbelieving of the luck their fellows had found in the White Mountains," orcs oftentimes live in old dwarven ruins," that put some of the Company in a bad mood, as none of them appreciated their heritage being defiled," but they do not have the connection to the stone that dwarves do," the dwarves looked very pleased with themselves now," and that is how they avoided being recaptured, coming to know the interconnected mine shafts like the back of their hands and finding new ways in the dark to give them the advantage against the persistent orcs, avoiding the orcs many attempts to recover their wares, and slowly, but surely, killing them all off with mattocks, picks, anything they could find that would do harm to the orcs over about ten days," a slightly confused look came over Sam's face as she continued, unable to understand why the orcs just didn't abandon trying to catch them," eventually, because none of the buggers wanted to leave empty handed, all of them died, and the dwarves were finally free of their captures, only to have to figure out how to get somewhere safe, with no supplies."

/Your Heart Will Be True/

I hope y'all enjoyed that!

I have been planning that big reveal for ages and I hope y'all like Persi and Remy when they actually do make an appearance!

Reviews are always appreciated!