A/N: Hello! Long time, no updates! Actually, it hasn't been that long but it's certainly felt like it! Well, here is a chapter at last! There are two songs I reference below. The first song is Sylvia's Lullaby from the Broadway show Finding Neverland. The second song is My House from Matilda.

Please review and tell me what you think!

Sigrid looked out the window again. It had been hours since their father had left with Linnor to the town center, but there was still no sign of them. In fact, there was no sign of anyone on the docks. Sigrid sighed.

"Looks like everyone's still at the feast." Sigrid moved away from the window and back into the dulling glow of their kitchen. Her elder brother, Bain, was sitting moodily at their small table, their little sister Tilda on his lap.

"I don't see why we couldn't have gone, too. Everyone else is there, including Da and Linnor." Bain muttered. Sigrid looked at her brother sadly and sat down across from him and Tilda.

"Da told us to stay, Bain. And besides, we couldn't have gone anyway. Sari and Lilly were sent back by their mother. Children aren't allowed into the Hall."

"Well, I'm not a child. And neither are you. Tilly's the only baby in the family."

"AM NOT!" Tilda screeched, holding onto her toy tightly. She pushed herself off of Bain's lap, and moved over to Sigrid, who scooped her up into her arms. Tilda sniffed and Sigrid hushed her as she wiped away a stray tear. Bain grimaced.

"Til, I-"

"Bain, enough. That wasn't nice. Til isn't a baby and you know it. Being angry at Da is no excuse for snapping at us. Da trusted us to stay here. He trusts you to look after us. That's why he left us here, why he told you to stay… with us." Sigrid glared sharply at her brother, not without sadness. It was times like these that she wished their mother were still here.

Da never talked about her, not really. Tilda had really only been a baby when she passed away, and they had only been a few years old. Sometimes Sigrid had flashes of a memory, of a woman, tall and thin, with curling auburn hair, and a laugh like the spring rain. But she never told her father this, or her siblings. She didn't want to hurt them by remembering.

Bain sighed and stood to come around to where they sat. He kneeled down in front of his sisters and took one of Tilda's hands, and one of Sigrid's.

"I'm sorry, Tilly. You're not a baby. Only my baby sister. You and Sigrid are my baby sisters."

"Only by a year." Sigrid interrupted, but she smiled anyway.

"Still younger than me. Sometimes I forget that we are all we have: us three and Da. Sigrid is the next thing to mother we have, and we..."

Bain trailed off, suddenly unsure of what it was he was trying to say, but it didn't matter. Tilda had suddenly pushed herself of Sigrid's lap and flung herself at her elder brother. Bain gave a sharp laugh and wrapped his arms around her. Sigrid giggled.

"Alright. That's enough tears for one night." Sigrid stood. "Time for bed. Who knows how long the others will be, and it's already very late. Come along, Tilda."

The little girl moaned and turned to face her sister.

"But I'm not tired yet, Sigrid! And if you and Bain get to stay awake, so can I!"

"Bain and I will be coming along shortly. If you'd like, I can sing you the Lullaby before you go to sleep."

Tilda's face lit up, and Sigrid smiled in earnest. She knew that would do the trick. As Tilda raced to get in her nightie, Bain nudged Sigrid slightly and smirked. He knew what she did. That Lullaby was the one their father sang to them when they couldn't fall asleep. It was one he said that their mother used to sing.

"Ready!" Tilda squealed from behind the curtain in the corner. Behind it was one large bed, which they all shared. Sigrid moved behind it, leaving Bain in the main room. After a moment, of whispers and giggles that only the girls shared, Bain heard the melody he knew so well.

"Quietly hush now to sleep
on the wings of a butterfly
Let all your cares drift away
For now is the end of the day

If you close your eyes
and count to ten
You'll hear your dreams
are calling again.
Just follow the moon
For all too soon a new day will appear
You'll have nothing to fear
For wherever you are and forever
I'll be here."

Linnor didn't know why she was there, but it had been the place her feet had decided to carry her to. Linnor knocked quietly on the wooden door, not sure if anyone was even home. After a second or two, however, a young boy opened the door.

"Hello Bain." Linnor smiled, thought it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Linnor!" Bain's whole face lit up as he exclaimed his surprise in a hushed voice. "Come in, quickly. Tilda's just gone to sleep, and Sigrid and I were making tea for Da when he returned. We thought you'd be at the feast with everyone else. Even Da is there."

"Really?' Linnor frowned as she stepped into the warm kitchen. "I must have lost him in the crowd. I never saw him there."

"If Da doesn't want to be noticed, he won't be." Sigrid said. She was standing by the oven, moving a kettle off the burner and onto a hot plate, mixing herbs and spices into the water. "Besides, he wouldn't have gone to the feast. Not with the Master and Alfred watching his every move as if he's a criminal. Tea?"

Linnor nodded a "yes, please" and sat down gingerly at the table as Sigrid poured her, then Bain and herself, a cup of tea.

'Well. You must have heard the news by now then." Linnor stated after a bit of silence. "Of Thorin and his plans to reward Laketown for arming the company."

Bain nodded, his eyes focused on her face. Linnor smiled kindly and turned to Sigrid, whose face was tight.

"Yes we heard. Some of the other kids managed to hear the whole thing before being sent back. And if you don't mind me saying, I agree with my father. I have no doubt your uncle will reward Laketown for its...kindness...but at what cost? Riches and gold for the lives of good, innocent people? Not everyone is a warrior. Not everyone is brave enough to believe this will all turn out right."

Linnor stared down in her now empty cup, her mind whirling. This too eerily echoed her thoughts from only minutes before, and it brought to mind everything she had been struggling with since earlier that night.

"But, if it meant you could leave all this...you could live well, in finer clothes, enough food, a better house-"

"There is no better house." Sigrid stood violently, her whole body shaking with fury. "You may be a princess, Linnor Durin, from one royal court to the next…it is all the same to you. But for us...at least, for me..."

"This roof keeps me dry when the rain falls.
This door helps to keep the cold at bay.
On this floor I can stand on my own two feet."

Linnor didn't know what she was expecting (yelling and screaming, anger and tears, maybe) but she wasn't expecting the sudden drop in volume, or the soft melody from this young girl. Mahal, was this what she was like before?

On this chair I can do my lessons.
On that pillow I can dream my nights away.
And this table, as you can see, well, it's perfect for tea.

It isn't much but it is enough for me.
It isn't much but it is enough...

On these walls I hang wonderful pictures.
Through this window I can watch the seasons change.
By this lamp I can read, and I, I am set free!

And when it's cold outside I feel no fear!
Even in the winter storms, I am warmed by a small but stubborn fire.
And there is no-where I would rather be.

It isn't much but it is enough for me.
It isn't much but it is enough for me.

Sigrid turned away from her brother and Linnor and Linnor could tell that she was lost in her song, like she herself often got. It was unsettling and it made her chest ache.

For this is my house!
This is my house!
It isn't much but it is enough for me.

This is my house!
This is my house!
It isn't much but it is enough.

And when it's cold and bleak
I feel no fear!
Even in the fiercest storms!
I am warmed
by a small but stubborn fire!

Even when outside it's freezing
I don't pay much heed.
I know that everything I need is in here.

It isn't much but it is enough for me.
It isn't much but it is enough for me.

When Sigrid turned back around to face them, her eyes were dry but shining. All of a sudden, before anyone could say anything, the door opened again and Bard walked in, stopping short at the sight of Linnor at his table, his eldest daughter near tears, his son in obvious shock.

"Linnor-" he started.

"Was just leaving." Sigrid snapped, eyeing Linnor pointedly.

There was a palpable tension. Without another word, Linnor stood up gracefully, and in the silence, walked out the door and back into the night.