Disclaimer: I don't own The Hobbit or the Lord of the Rings, I only own Nàin and the characters that I have come up with and their stories.

Chapter 36
Mines of Moria Part 3

Thor

Gimli still seemed ready for Dwarves to appear to welcome them to their kingdom. Thor, on the other hand, had lost all hope of seeing any Dwarves there. Not only because Gandalf believed, or knew, they were all gone, but it was clear that this was nothing but a ruin of an ancient kingdom. Whatever the reason was for Balin and the other's silence those past years, it could not be good.

They had climbed the stairs three hours later and continued on through various hallways and tunnels. The darkness stayed put around them as did the silence. The occasional sounds of water dripping could be heard from time to time, though no one could see what water was dripping. Somewhere deep below them there seemed to be some form of water, perhaps some rainwater had entered from a hole somewhere and dripped down over the past decades this place had been empty, forming a pool somewhere deep below them.

Though apart from that, there were no other sounds.

"This should be no longer than a two day journey, then we'll see the sunlight again master Hobbits," was Gandalf's reply to Merry and Pippin's questions about how long this darkness would be the only thing they could see.

Towards the end of their first day, or at least Thor assumed it was the end of the day, they begun to get closer to the actual mines. The path they were on sloped downwards and there had been several staircases downwards. However, Gandalf stopped suddenly for the first time in a while. Thor glanced upwards, seeing Gandalf glancing back and forth between three, black arches with an unsure look in his eyes.

"I have no memory of this place…"

Aragorn walked forwards, about to say something when the wizard suddenly sat down on a rock, his back towards everyone. This time, Thor and Gimli were not invited to sit with him, and Aragorn quietly led them both away from the wizard.

"Are we lost?" whispered Pippin.

Merry remained silent, even though Pippin's question had been directed towards him. Nobody seemed to want to answer Pippin's question, even though everyone was beginning to assume that they were indeed lost.

"I cannot believe we haven't seen even a glimpse of a fellow Dwarf…" muttered Gimli, earning a look from Legolas.

"Even I am beginning to understand those Dwarves your King sent are not present anymore. It's too silent here, and you can hear a Dwarf from a mile away," replied Legolas, only earning a discontent look from Gimli.

The company, minus Gandalf, went to sit against a wall. Everyone was huddled together quietly, waiting for the wizard to suddenly spring up and continue leading them onwards. Some members ate while some tried to relax by taking out their pipes and smoking a little bit. Frodo seemed to be the only one who was simply just sitting there, staring at something in the dark.

A sudden dark anxiety overcame Thor. His fingers inched towards his mother's dagger and his glance moved towards the darkness Frodo was staring at. They were surrounded by light cast by a torch Boromir had managed to lit. A little away from them, Gandalf's light was cast against the arches. But apart from that, there was just darkness surrounding them. For some reason, that darkness creeped Thor out.

For a brief moment, he thought he saw something in the darkness. A glimpse of movement and the light of Boromir's torch being reflected by a pair of large eyes. While Frodo, who also seemed to have seen this, stood up and hurried over to Gandalf, Thor remained seated, unable to look away. He felt himself drift off, move away from his body while the darkness shifted into something visible…

Fire. Orange lights. Thunder. Wind. A mountain. Lava. Frodo and Sam, dirty and weak walking towards the orange light – struggling and falling. Thor's mother fighting weakness alongside them. And a creature crawling towards them.

The vision changed. Both Hobbits were on the ground and the strange creature gave off a hoarse scream towards Nàin. She unsheathed an Orcish blade, pointing it at the creature.

"What the hell are you?"

Coughs. Retches. "Gollum. Gollum."

"Stay away! Stay away!"

Blades being swung, rocks being thrown. Frodo quietly running off… Nàin and Sam forcing themselves to follow…

"Thor?"

He almost jumped out of his skin when a hand touched his shoulder and a kind voice spoke his name. The vision was now far off, only a distant memory. Yet, it haunted him. It had felt different than other visions had ever felt. It had been from the future, he understood that much, and although it gladdened him to see his mother alright, he feared she might not survive what would have come after all of that. Not only that, but he felt fear for something else. Something his mind had understood but hidden far away so he could not reach the answer.

Frodo's blue eyes were looking at him expectantly. Gandalf, from where he was sat, was staring at them. The others too were watching and only Aragorn and Gimli understood what had just happened.

"I'm fine…" he lied in a whisper. There was a strange longing inside of him that could only be explained as jealousy. However, that vision had looked dark and awful – why was he jealous of it? Something was not right.

Frodo did not seem convinced, but nodded his head altogether. Thor lifted his hand to his cheek to find tears rolling down. He had never really had such an intense vision before… And he did not even know why it was so intense for him to begin with.

"We are going to sleep. Gandalf will have figured things out in the morning," explained Legolas, his eyes curious and hesitant as he looked at Thor.

Not wanting to be near anyone, Thor moved away a little bit, finding a spot next to the mountain wall that seemed not too lumpy. He put down a few blankets and quickly lay down. The rest of the night was spent thinking about the vision, and Thor got almost no sleep at all.

Aiwin

Tired and sweaty, Aiwin returned to the Hall of the Royals, her sword attached to her belt. The guards bowed their heads in respect as she passed them by and she was just about to enter her room, when something caught her eye.

Thror was standing at the end of the hallway, in the small parlour there, quietly talking to someone. It was late – too late for Aiwin or her brother to still be up – as she had been in charge of getting her younger sister to bed. Thorin had been Dis' main concern the past couple of days, the worry over Nàin taking a toll on him, and both Fili and Kili had a late counselling with Bofur and Gloin. So, it had fallen on Aiwin to care for her younger sisters which she had not minded. Though it had reminded her of her mother's missing presence and Aiwin, after Mori and Mili were safe and sound in bed, had found herself going down to the training halls to blow off some steam.

Now it was past midnight, and Thror was still up. Last time Aiwin checked, sleeping was one of her brother's favourite things to do.

She stayed put by her door, trying to hear who else was talking and what they were saying. Although she could not hear the exact words, she did recognize the voice of the other person; Kildin, Kili's favourite soldier and the Dwarf who would become the captain of the guards after Kili. Kildin was sixty years older than them, but still Thror was there, talking to him. They were stood close to each other, both leaning against a wall. From time to time, Kildin's eyes lit up with something that Aiwin could not describe in any other way but passion and she quickly understood what was going on.

She smiled, happy for her brother. There might be some form of a war going on outside of the kingdom, but at least things were still normal in Erebor (as normal as it could be with their Queen missing). She entered her bedroom and walked straight over to her window. Without thinking twice about it, Aiwin opened it to let in some fresh air. However, the sound of hooves caught her ears and she hurried to her balcony instead.

On the field between Dale and Erebor, a group of Dwarves returned on ponies. Torches lit up the air around them, making it look as though they were surrounded in a bubble of light. They were still far off, but would be by the entrance in ten or twenty minutes. Aiwin – everyone – knew who they were. Fili had chosen a small number of Dwarves to go search for Nàin. He had seemed hesitant, which everyone understood. After all, leaving the kingdom during these troubling times was a risk and seeing as he had chosen some of his best warriors, it was not only a risk for the Dwarves but also for the kingdom as they lost some of their defence for a brief period of time.

From such a distance, Aiwin could not see whether their mission had been successful. There was just a small chance of them finding her mother now, seeing as it had been so long and the Orcs had already been given such a head start – but there was still hope.

She burst out of her room, surprising Thror and Kildin, before hurrying past the guards again. Down and down the stairs she ran all the way towards the main entrance and once she reached it, ten minutes had already passed. The gates were opened – whom during these times were kept shut unless there was important trading or business to be done – and the party was let in. Fili and Kili stood alone to greet them back along with some servants, though it was clear that it was an unannounced return.

Aiwin watched from a corner as Dwalin and six other Dwarves came to a halt before their king. Her eyes searched each pony for a sign of her mother… only to find none. She saw Kili turn towards his brother, who bowed his head in grief. For a moment, Fili's remaining reactions were clouded by tears, and by the time Aiwin had wiped them all away, Fili was standing in front of her.

"Da'?" she asked quietly.

He kept a monotone look on his face, placing a hand on her shoulder before passing her by. Her uncle stayed with her though, wrapping an arm around her for a brief hug before passing her by as well.

She just hoped that at some point, her mother would return.

She just hoped that her mother could return, and that the Orcs had not already dealt with her the way Orcs were rumoured to deal with prisoners. With death.