MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!
Christmas is tomorrow!
Who all is excited?
This is a shorter chapter and I am sorry,
but I wanted to get one out..
We get to meet up with our dwarves again!
Also, I haven't watched BOTFA yet...
I can't wait to see it yet, but I work night times and I probably won't see it until it's out on DVD.
:(

Please review!

~ Rachel

Eärwen, flanked by Barathon and Tauriel, made her way up the front slope of Erebor. The past few days had been mostly travel with a small stop to check on how the people of Laketown were faring. The front gates of Lonely Mountain stood before them. Dwarves were bustling about and Eärwen assumed they were the ones that had joined with Thorin for the Battle of the Five Armies as it was being called. Suddenly, a spear was placed across their path and the trio looked to the stout dwarf who stood in their way.

"What business do you have here?" the dwarf demanded as he scowled at the talled beings.

Eärwen cleared her throat to bring the dwarf's attention to her and announced, "I have business with the King Under the Mountain. I must speak with him immediately."

The dwarf scrunched his face and snarled, "I'm not letting three elves into this kingdom without a very good reason. So you're either going to have to tell me your business with the king or you can be on your way."

Eärwen was about to shoot back a menacing response when a familiar figure caught her keen eye.

Bofur was on his way out of the Lonely Mountain to help with the refugees of Laketown. He patted his pocket to make sure that the carving he had made for Bard's youngest, Tilda was still there. When he felt it, he began to whistle and continue on his way but stopped when a voice called out his name.

The whistle died as Bofur glanced up to see an impossible figure waving at him. Blinking twice so as to make sure his eyes were not deceiveing him, he stumbled as the figure of the nymph he had seen die pushed her way toward him.

Eärwen watched as Bofur turned to her and his mouth began to move like a fish out of water. With determination, she placed a hand on the guard's helmet and pushed him aside. She quickly made her way to the friendly dwarf and drew him into a fierce embrace.

Once he was released, Bofur stared at the nymph wide-eyed and slack-jawed. "How is it possible?" he asked as he fingered the nindari's shortened hair.

"I believe I will tell that story when the entire company is there to hear it," she said gently as she placed a hand on the dwarf's shoulder. "I do not wish to have to repeat myself multiple times."

Just then, Tauriel and Barathon came to stand by Eärwen. They were ignoring the sputtering, red-faced guard who had just been swiftly disarmed by Tauriel when he brandished his axe in an attempt to prohibit them from following Eärwen. Bofur waved the guard off before grabbind Eärwen's hand and leading her to the throne room where Thorin was in deep discussion with a few dwarves on how best to go about the rebuilding of Erebor and Dale.

Thorin rubbed his throbbing temples as he leaned against the left side of his throne. They had been discussing the rebuild for hours and it seemed like they were no where near coming to a conclusion. Then, without warning, the chamber doors were thrown open and in walked three tall figures. One he recognized as the female captian from Mirkwood. Another was a dark-haired elf her had seen at the battle against the orcs and goblins. The third figure, however, was hooded and wore a blue cloak that effectively covered their body.

The hooded figure knelt low and proclaimed, "Hail, King Thorin, Reclaimer of the Lonely Mountain!"

Thorin leaned forward upon hearing that voice and Eärwen threw back her hood as she looked up and met Thorin's gaze with a wicked grin. Thorin nearly fell out of his throne as recognition slammed into him. "H-how is it possible?" he stammered as he stood on shocked awe. "I saw Bolg run you through with his sword and toss you away like rubbish."

Eärwen chuckled slightly and said, "Thank you for that reminder, O great king of Erebor. I am, in fact, aware of what happened to me. I am also aware of the things that transpired while I was dead."

Thorin stared with disbelieving eyes as Eärwen untucked her tunic and raised it just enough to expose the jagged scar that ran the length of her abdomen and glistened with a soft silver color.

"I came back because the Valar claimed that I rewrote my song that was woven for me," Eärwen explained. "I was not meant to die in that battle and was sent back to fulfill my greater destiny."

Thorin opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted when the doors burst open once again and the entire company flooded into the room. Tauriel and Barathon stepped aside and watched the reunion with soft smiles gracing their features.

Fili was the first to reach the nymph. He threw his arms around her middle and hugged her as tightly as his wounded shoulder would allow. Soon the entire company had surrounded Eärwen and was hugging her and bombarding her with questions. She laughed and promised to answer all of their questions in due time. She quickly introduced the Company to Tauriel and Barathon.

As things quieted down, Thorin motioned for eveyone to move to his study so that they could speak in private. Once they were all there, Eärwen slowly began her story. "After I was seperated from you in the Misty Mountains," she said as she looked into each dwarf's eyes, "I was sent to Azog. I was chained inside a pool and forced to stay in my natural state. It wasn't long before Azog came and wanted to know your plans. Day after day he came and tortured me, tryong to gain the information he desired. During this time, I found that water would heal me in my natural form. When he found out, the torture became worse. He would peel back my scales and thrust his hook into my exposed flesh. He started to do it about an hour each day and finally he made it a whole day event. I was fed once every few days, either a fish or a moldy piece of bread. Finally, I was hauled out of the water and tied up. I was put on some type of animal and Azog brought me to where the battle would occur. You, of course, know what happened after that."

Eärwen paused and looked around at the faces of her dwarves. A varying array of emotions were on each of their faces. Her gaze landed on Ori and it seemed her had a question.

"W-what was it like," he asked hesitantly. Almost immediately, Dori hegan to scold him but Eärwen stopped him.

"It's alright, Dori," she said as she gently touched his arm. "I don't mind answering the question. At first, there was the pain. Then, the darkness closed in. It was scary at first, but as the darkness came. the pain went away and was replaced by this feeling of weightlessness. I opened my eyes and found myself in Mandos's Halls. All arond me stood the Valar of old. I spoke with Ulmo, Aulë, Mandos, Vairë, and Nienna. I had apparently defied what they had planned for me and I was needed to return. Nienna showed me all that happened in the battle. She led me to a basin that showed me images of the battle. Every one of her tears that fell into the water changed the scene that I saw. I saw the death of Tosur and Eraveth defended Thorin after she ordered Kili to take Fili off the battlefield. I chose to come back and before Manwë sent me back, Ulmo told me something that I have found to be entirely true."

"What is that?" Thorin asked as he studied the nymph in the firelight.

Eärwen turned eyes brimming with happy tears on the company and whispered, "He told me that family is more than blood. Glorfindel is my family because he took me in as a child and loved me as his own. You also have become my family. I would do anything to protect my family."

"You already did," Balin said in barely more than a whisper. Eärwen gave him a smile and a small nod. For the next few hours, she answered as many questions as she could about the Valar, most of which were from Ori who was writing down all her answers in his notebook. When they finally went their seperate ways, Eärwen, Barathon, and Tauriel were shown to rooms where they could sleep during their visit.