A/N: Another update! Here we are at chapter 24! This fic started as a simple rewrite but this project has turned into my "baby". I have a sequel planned and I'm looking forward to it but before we can get here we have to survive BoTFA. This is going to be another giant chapter, so you've been warned. There'll be a lot going on and also a LOT of dialogue happening here, so please forgive me if I haven't done a lot of description.

Maggie and Riley have a lot of catching up to do and there's a lot of movement going on in general.

There'll be some surprises in this chapter as well that stirs away from canon slightly but I had fun playing with these ideas and I hope you'll have fun reading them.

*CONTENT WARNING*: If you're sensitive to emotional/physical abuse, you may want to stay clear of some parts of this chapter.

Also, I'm curious about you guys' thoughts on the character development. Do you have any favourite moments so far? Let me know what you think!

Khuzdul:

Abrith: Little cracker (or literally "she of fierce spirit")

Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Four: Of Storms Brewing

Thorin fell asleep long before Maggie did. A couple of hours later, she was still twisting and turning between the sheets. On the one hand she was relieved that Thorin had been able to sleep at all, but on the other hand she was worried. There was no doubt in Maggie's mind that the Thorin who had just passionately (and rather roughly) made love to her, was the real Thorin. What worried her was the uncertainty of how long he'd remained his true-self. Seeing him cry stirred a different kind of sadness within her and Maggie felt powerless. She couldn't imagine what it was like to be so out of control. The argument with Riley had also left her restless, as well as guilt-ridden. The other dwarves had turned in for the night, except for Balin who kept a watchful eye, in case something happened. Every now and again Maggie heard his snores echo through the enormous stone halls. Eventually, Maggie found her brother sitting on the edge of the ledge that looked over the treasure chamber. The sight of all the gold was still surreal and Maggie couldn't understand how something that was really just metal could cause people to do such horrible things to each other.

"How's Dr Frankenstein?"

Maggie sat down next to her older brother. As her legs dangled over the edge and her eyes wandered the depths of Erebor, she suddenly became aware of how small she was. It was utterly bizarre that the two of them, out of all the people in the universe, would be sitting there at that particular point in time. Fate was something Maggie wasn't sure she'd believed in, in fact she'd always been an advocate of one's free-will. Yet, something told her that this was where they were meant to be. Perhaps, where they'd always meant to be. It sounded like a cliche but it made sense. Maggie also wondered to what extent their dad had been aware. Maybe somehow, he'd always hoped they would find a way to Middle-Earth and that's why he had read the stories to them in the first place. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense because it wasn't just that both Maggie and Riley enjoyed the books or were fans of it. They always felt connected to it, without understanding why. Now that they were there and after everything they had been through with Thorin, Bilbo and the company, it made sense.

She chuckled slightly at Riley's pop-culture reference. At least he hadn't lost his sense of humour.

"He actually fell asleep, thank god." Maggie said "How's Bilbo?"

Riley's ears suddenly turned pink and he began to stutter. "We didn't...I mean we haven't. I mean we kissed but we didn't..how did you know?"

"Everyone knows, Ri." Maggie told him. "Also seriously, you guys didn't…?"

Riley shook his head and the thought of the kiss he'd shared with Bilbo made him smile. It had been an intimate moment and if Riley had possessed less self-control, it might have turned into something else but he didn't want to rush or make Bilbo uncomfortable. He had a feeling that out of the two of them, the hobbit was the one with less experience. Riley wasn't sure why it surprised him that Maggie figured out what was going on, but it was a relief to be able to talk to her about it.

"No, no. I want to take things slow." Riley explained "As much as possible anyway."

Riley put his arm around Maggie and she leaned against his shoulder. They stayed like that for a while, both glad that the tension from their fight had ceased. It was like that between them. It wasn't often that they fought and no matter how bad it was, they were always able to talk about it eventually and put it behind them. A quality they'd inherited from both their parents. On the whole, Alan and Susan Spencer had had a happy marriage and they'd loved each other very much, but it wasn't without fault. Sometimes, when Riley and Maggie were children, their parents would argue late at night. Maggie remembered how Riley would stay up with her, reading her stories and calming her down so she wouldn't focus on the loud noises downstairs.

"So...pregnant, huh?" Riley said. "You know, mum would laugh in your face if she was here."

Of course, their mum would also be supportive but for several years, it was a bit of a running joke in their family that Maggie was the last person to become a parent. Not because they thought she was unfit to be one but because she valued her freedom and hadn't really considered parenting as something she wanted.

"God, she would as well." Maggie realised "Maybe we're more like our parents than we think. I miss them so much, Ri."

"I miss them too, Mags." Riley placed a kiss on Maggie's head. "I wish they were here. They'd love all of this. We really are a family of nerds."

For the first time in a long while, they laughed together. Despite the previous argument, Maggie was happy they were together again. So much had happened since Riley had left them at the edge of Mirkwood and they were both different now. She wondered what had happened to him and Gandalf because whatever it was, she knew it had changed him.

"You can't fight in the five armies, Maggie." Riley told her after a while. "I know you want to, but you can't. It's too big of a risk."

Maggie sighed. "I know. I just, don't like not being able to help."

"How does it feel...you know, with the baby? I mean God...you're going to be a mum."

"I'm tired all the time, Ri. Not like sleepy tired but fatigued. I can feel it in every part of my body. Also, I'm so fed up with the vomiting. Oin says that it'll likely be worse for me because the baby is half-human and half-dwarf."

"I hadn't even considered that." Riley said "Will it complicate things? Pregnancy-wise, I mean?"

"I'm not sure." Maggie shrugged "I don't think anybody really knows. This is kind of uncharted territory for all parties involved. Honestly, I'm pretty scared."

Until then, Maggie hadn't realised how true it was. She was terrified and she wasn't exactly sure what scared her the most. The fact that she realised how much she actually wanted this pregnancy, to be a mother and to raise her child with Thorin. Or the uncertainty of the baby's wellbeing. What would happen by the time she was due to give birth without any kind of modern medicine or hospitals to help her? Would the baby survive it? Would she be okay? Hell, Maggie wasn't even convinced she was going to be a good mother.

"It's okay to be scared, sis." Riley said. "This is a huge and life-changing thing. Especially for someone who was never sure if she wanted to be a parent at all."

Riley turned to his sister and looked at her. She had changed so much since they'd last seen each other, but then so had he. It would take some time for him to get used to the reality of becoming an uncle, but the more he considered it, Riley realised he was excited. There were concerns of course, particularly regarding what their father had told him in the void-space. Thorin still had to die and there was nothing they could do to stop it. At first, Riley was sure he'd have to tell Maggie about it, but seeing her now he wasn't sure he had the heart to. He wasn't keen on keeping secrets from her, but the truth would break her heart and that was so much worse.

"I've never seen you love anyone like you love him." Riley said.

"I don't think I ever have." Maggie sighed and thought about the sleeping king in her bedroom. It was strange to think that months ago, she'd hated Thorin and couldn't stand the sight of him. She'd thought him arrogant, rude and selfish. Now, she couldn't imagine spending her life with anyone else.

As they sat in silence for a while, a sudden memory sparked in Riley's mind.

"Oh shit!" he recalled "Speaking of kings, we have things to talk about."

Maggie had a feeling she knew what it was. As siblings her and Riley had always been close, not just in age but they were intuitive. Being in Middle-Earth seemed to have amplified that connection somehow, maybe because of their ancestry. There was so much of it she didn't understand but they would figure it out together, like they always did.

"You mean with the whole heirs to Gondor thing?" she guessed "I figured you'd know somehow, but how?"

"I saw dad."

Maggie fell silent. "You saw him? But...how?"

"Oh you know, Sauron briefly killed me." Riley replied. "I really don't want to talk about that, not just yet at least. It was a bad day at black rock. But, I ended up in that same void space you did. He told me everything. How did you find out?"

"Bard told me." Maggie explained. "It turns out dad saved the life of one of his ancestors, in turn his ancestor swore some sort of sacred blood oath to always help our family."

"So Bard's on our side?" Riley asked "What's he like?"

Even after all this time, it was still strange to talk about people they had read about in books as real, physical human beings they had different relationships to.

"Terrible at holding his drink, for one thing." Maggie chuckled, thinking back to that night at the tavern when things were good.

"What?" Riley shook his head "I'll come back to that, but more importantly, what are we going to do about it, Maggie?" Riley sighed. "I don't know about you, but I don't want the throne. I don't want to be any kind of royalty, but I think when this is over, we'll have to take some kind of stance. Not to mention your baby will also be a part of that. Actually, come to think of it, the baby will be heir to both Erebor and Gondor. That's going to cause problems."

Maggie hadn't thought about that at all. To her, the child was just that - a child and royal titles didn't matter. It seemed like it would matter to others, though. With everything else going on, she hadn't fully considered the reality of his heritage.

"I don't want the throne either, but there's a part of me that wonders how much it will screw with Aragorn's timeline?" Maggie said. "I mean, think about it. Let's assume that we make some sort of official statement saying that we do not want the throne of Gondor. That means we're basically saying that as a family, we're also renouncing our birthright along with our heritage. That heritage includes Aragorn..I mean Estel. If we give this up, does it affect his fate somehow too, given that he's our direct descendant? That's a huge decision to make and I'm not entirely sure I'm comfortable with that responsibility."

Another silence fell between them as Riley carefully thought about what his sister said. They would have to tread extremely carefully.

"I think we need to talk to someone more knowledgeable than us about this." Riley said. "Because honestly, we're way out of our depth here."

Riley stifled yawned. "Not to mention it is way past our bedtime. Especially for you. You need to be careful, Maggie. You need all your strength."

"Ugh, you're gonna be really annoying through this pregnancy, aren't you?"

Riley got back up on his feet and helped Maggie up his bed. He put his arm around her shoulders as they left the treasure chamber and walked back in the dark halls of Erebor.

The next few days followed a similar pattern. They would spend their days searching for the Arkenstone, this was when it became more obvious that Thorin was affected by the gold and the sickness that lay upon it. Finding the Arkenstone was more or less like searching for a needle in a haystack; an impossible task. Even so, Thorin was convinced of its existence within the mountain and would hear nothing else of it. Dwalin managed to convince him that they couldn't spend all their energy in the treasure hall. Erebor was reclaimed and for some of the company, it had been many years since they'd last set foot in their home. Therefore, Dwalin deemed it only fair that they should be allowed to enjoy their new freedom. Especially the younger dwarves who had grown up, only hearing stories of the mountain. Reluctantly, Thorin agreed, much to everyone else's relief.

Bilbo noticed that Maggie had made it her mission to try and talk sense into Thorin. While the other dwarves mainly did his bidding, she wouldn't have it. To the halfling's surprise, sometimes she managed to get through to him, even if just for brief moments. During those rare moments of clarity, Thorin was himself but sometimes, he was the other version. The version that Bilbo knew truly frightened Maggie. It frightened him and also Riley. Thorin soon became more withdrawn and even Maggie struggled to reach him. More often than not, their conversations turned into loud arguments, ending by one of them storming out and cursing.

The nights were calmer. That's when Thorin seemed to return to his normal self. The dwarf who loved his future wife and was already a devoted father, even though their baby was yet to be born. Sometimes, Bilbo saw them when he wandered the corridors, unable to sleep. Thorin would whisper words of apology and sometimes he would even cry. Hearing Thorin sob broke Bilbo's heart and he couldn't imagine what it did to Maggie. His unpredictable behaviour was unsettling and Bilbo didn't like. He also didn't trust it and had tried telling Maggie as much, yet she remained convinced that she could reach him.

That particular morning, he was standing in the kitchens with Fili, Balin, Dwalin and Kili when another argument broke out. As always, Thorin was guarding the treasure and Maggie had been trying to convince him to come and join them, that the treasure would still be there. It escalated quickly and soon turned into another shouting match.

"I am the king under this mountain!" Thorin's voice boomed. "I don't need anyone to tell me how to rule!"

"This again?" Riley asked when he joined them. He'd been asleep until the shouting woke him. "How long have they been at it this time?"

"I'd say about an hour now." Fili replied

"Pretty impressive really." Kili added "I thought one of them would have broken something by now."

Riley listened to the argument. He could hear the desperation in his sister's voice as its echo bounced between the walls. Riley couldn't explain it, but something felt different about this fight. Thorin's voice was harsher than usual and Maggie sounded more tired. He leaned with his hands against the table and felt Bilbo's warm hand on his waist as the hobbit handed him a mug of tea.

"I'm not telling you how to rule!" Maggie told him. "I'm trying to help you! You're not yourself!"

"It is not your place to help me, woman! You're barely able to help yourself!"

Riley grew increasingly more uncomfortable. When Thorin and Maggie clashed, they all had a silent agreement to not interfere unless it was necessary. Not because they wanted her to deal with it alone, but because adding others to the mix would likely only make it worse.

"That's not fair! I'm the mother of your child!" Maggie shouted, "And I'm going to be your wife."

"Then as my future wife it would do you well to know your place and when to HOLD YOUR TONGUE!"

Riley watched as Dwalin took a few careful steps towards the door. Fili exchanged worried glances with Kili and Balin.

"Can you not hear yourself?" Maggie asked This is not you, Thorin. You need to snap out of it! Be my Thorin and the father of our child!"

"I never asked for that responsibility to fall on me!" Thorin snapped. "I never asked for fatherhood.."

There was a brief pause and Riley realised he'd been holding his breath.

"I never wanted it."

"Oh fuck!" Riley said, realising things were about to get a whole lot worse. "Abort, abort, abort!"

Riley, the dwarves and Bilbo ran into the treasure hall. The tension hung thick in the air and Riley turned to his sister. Her face was no longer calm and not even angry, but upset. Understandably so, considering Thorin had just told her he didn't want to be a father. Riley knew it wasn't true and that it was the dragon sickness talking, but it still infuriated him.

Riley watched as Maggie inhaled and exhaled a deep breath before she stepped towards Thorin, who faced away from. She was shaking as she reached out her hand and placed it on his arm.

"You don't mean that." She said as her voice quivered. "I know you and I know that you want to be a father and a husband."

"What do you know of what I want?" Thorin hissed "Why do you think you matter more than this?"

There was silence for a while. "Because you love me." Maggie said.

"Let me go." Thorin demanded

"No."

"You disobey me?"

Thorin snatched his arm from Maggie and raised his hand at her, almost as if he was about to hit her.

"Uncle!" Fili stepped between Maggie and Thorin, grabbing his arm mid-air. "Leave her alone!"

"This is not your business, nephew." Thorin told him.

"Yes it is! Maggie is family now and I will not let you harm her or the baby. If you do, I will hurt you. "

Thorin seemed taken aback at Fili's words. Maggie backed away and found herself shielded behind Dwalin and Riley. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest. Poor Bilbo didn't say anything, but she realised she was squeezing his hand tightly.

"You dare threaten me?" Thorin asked "She is not yours to protect. She belongs to me."

"She belongs to no one." Fili replied. He wasn't afraid of his uncle, but

"Thorin," It was Dwalin who spoke "Come, let us take a walk."

Sometime later that day, after Dwalin managed to pull Thorin away, Maggie sat down on a cold stone step. She must have aimlessly wandered around Erebor for hours before her feet were too tired. Maggie took off her shoes, a pair of boots from her world that had somehow miraculously survived this journey. She stretched out her feet and wiggled her toes, then she brought her knees to her chest. Her hands were still shaking and her mind spinning, trying to comprehend what earlier. Maggie didn't want to believe that Thorin would actually hurt her, yet he had come very close to. She hardly dared to think what would have happened if Fili wasn't there to physically stop him.

"You alright there, lass?"

"Master Glóin ," Maggie jumped but then relaxed when she saw it was just the ginger-haired dwarf in the doorway behind her. "Sorry, I'm a bit on edge. How did you know where I was?"

"That's understandable, I didn't mean to startle you." Gloin apologised. "I saw you walking around and thought I'd see if you wanted some company?"

The question surprised Maggie. It was rare for the ginger dwarf to offer his company. Glóin was the most reserved out of the group and slow to trust. That's why Maggie was surprised to find him reaching out to her, but it was a welcome gesture. Glóin took a set next to Maggie and she realised it was probably the longest time she'd spent in his company.

"He didn't mean what he said." Glóin assured her. "Don't take it to heart, lass. Thorin loves you."

"He was so unlike himself, Master Glóin ." Maggie said. "That look in his eyes….I've never seen anything like it before, I keep worrying that he'll never snap out of it."

Maggie breathed in deeply and exhaled a deep breath, trying to compose herself, but all she felt was complete exhaustion.

Glóin scratched his beard and then continued. "Aye, I think we all feel that worry, but I have known Thorin since were young and my father knew him as dwarfling. He has more strength than we give him credit for."

"What was he like?" Maggie asked "As a child, I mean."

"Full of mischief like you wouldn't believe, lass." Glóin chuckled as seemed to recall memories long since forgotten. "He gets frustrated with Fili and Kili, but he was much worse when he was their age."

"Oh yeah…how..how old is Thorin? I mean...all of you really?"

Maggie knew that dwarves, much like elves, aged differently than humans. She'd always felt like Fili and Kili were similar to her and Riley's age in human and

"Ah, I wondered when you might ask. I'm surprised it's taken you so long. Let's see then…"

Glóin counted on his fingers and muttered words in Khuzdul which Maggie assumed were number.

"Thorin is the oldest in our company, he will be 196 in the Spring."

Maggie's jaw dropped. "Holy shit…."

"As you already know, Fili is the older of the brothers, he's eighty-two." Glóin continued. "Kili is seventy-seven. You could say young Ori is the baby of the group; he is sixty."

"I thought I felt old when I turned twenty-five…."

Thankfully, Maggie had only seen age as nothing but a number and it hardly mattered as far as relationships were concerned. She'd had boyfriends who were both older and younger than herself. If it wasn't something she had learned over the years, it was that a person's age didn't always equal to their maturity.

"Do you miss him?" Maggie asked, "Your son, Gimli?"

"Ah!' Gloin seemed surprised. "You remember my wee boy?"

Truthfully, it was difficult not to remember Gimli. Not just because of what Maggie already knew about him, but because Gloin often talked about his son and his wife. The rest of the Company often groaned when he started going on about them, but Maggie found it endearing.

"Aye, I miss him." the ginger dwarf admitted. "And her, it will be our centennial anniversary in the summer."

Maggie's jaw dropped again. Most of her relationships hadn't lasted more than two or three years. It was difficult to imagine being married to someone for a whole century. Most humans didn't even live that long. Gloin stretched out and stifled a yawn as he got back up on his feet.

"I have to find Nori and relieve him of watch-duty." he explained. "You should be getting some sleep, abrith."

Maggie wasn't one to argue.

"I know you have it, Bilbo."

Riley crossed his arms, putting his right foot over the left one and leaned against the doorway of the small study. Bilbo stood there in his

"Hmm?" Bilbo nervously cleared his throat "That I have what?"

"The Arkenstone."

Riley's voice was nothing more than a whisper and they both looked around, just in case Thorin was there. A part of Riley even wondered if he would appear if they said his name aloud three times. He took a chair and sat down in front of Bilbo who twiddled his thumbs, until one of his hands reached inside his pocket. It seemed the hobbit had a particular talent for finding magical jewellery.

"H-how do you know?" Bilbo asked, his voice stuttering slightly.

"Well for one thing, I heard you talking to Balin earlier." Riley gently let his hand reach Bilbo and traced small circles in his palm.

"And...umm...the other?"

"I just know. Just like Maggie knew who Beorn was before Gandalf told us about it."

"Uh huh.."

Riley was just inches away from Bilbo when he stopped, just to gaze. Bilbo's curls were grey from all the dust in the mountain and parts of his face was covered in soot. Even so, Riley soaked in the warmth of his eyes. Despite the vast emptiness of Erebor, they'd rarely managed to have a moment to themselves. Not since that night they kissed. With Thorin losing his mind, everything had been hands-on-deck and they hadn't been able to talk about things. It was impossible to miss that Bilbo was nervous. He didn't avoid Riley and sometimes he did show affection in his own way, like when he'd slipped his hand around Riley's waist in the kitchens. When Riley tried to return that same affection, Bilbo would often freeze up and sometimes seemed almost uncomfortable.

"Balin is right. You can't give it to him. It'll make things much worse." Riley told him.

"You know something else?" Bilbo guessed "Don't you?"

Riley silently contemplated whether or not to tell Bilbo. Gandalf's warnings about not revealing too much of their future had pretty much been thrown out the window already. His father's warning about how Thorin still had to die had weighed heavy on Riley's chest for the past few days. For days, he'd tried to find a way to tell Maggie but his heart wouldn't allow him. There was also a small part of him that so badly wanted to believe that Thorin could be saved. That maybe that was their reason for being there after all and that the Valar were wrong.

"What aren't you telling me?" Bilbo asked, his demand more clear.

"Take a seat, Master Burglar." Riley sighed. "I need to tell you something, but you cannot tell anyone. Not Fili or Kili, or Balin. Not Thorin. Especially not my sister. She can never know what I know."

Bilbo pulled up a chair next to Riley and listened as he began to tell a strange tale that Bilbo Baggins would never forget. It began with a hole in the ground where a hobbit once lived.

"Did Riley send you to babysit me?"

Maggie wasn't sure how long Kili had been standing in the doorway. Even after all this time, his stealth surprised her. Out of him and Fili, he was then one excelled in the art of sneakiness. Something the whole Company had suffered for. Despite their age, which Maggie still couldn't believe, the brothers often acted like mischievous teenagers. It was part of their charm and why Maggie loved them as if they were also her brothers.

"I sent myself." Kili replied "May I come in?"

Maggie nodded, grateful for the company. Unlike the other nights, Thorin hadn't joined her and to her surprise Maggie realised she was relieved about it. She hadn't admitted to the others how terrified she'd been before, but she knew they could tell. Without Thorin, the bedchamber felt huge and empty, but she didn't trust him to enter it.

"Kili…." Maggie said "Can you stay here tonight?"

At first, she thought the plead sounded ridiculous. She was a grown woman and was supposed to handle sleeping alone but putting her pride aside, Maggie didn't want to be alone. She would have asked Riley, but her brother and Bilbo deserved at least a rare moment's privacy. Kili had only just managed to sit on the soft mattress, when there was a demanding knock on the door.

"Maggie!" Thorin called from outside.

Instantly, Maggie clutched Kili's shirt and buried her face in the prince's shoulder. Kili remained calm but Maggie heard the nerves in his voice.

"Go away, Uncle!" Kili shouted. "You are not welcome here!"

"I am sorry." Thorin apologised from behind the door.. His voice sounded frantic and desperate. "I won't hurt you."

"You need to leave!"

Thorin ignored his nephew's demands and started banging on the door. Each thud caused Maggie's heart to skip a beat as she held onto Kili, whose arms acted like a shield. Maggie hated this fear. The banging continued for a few more minutes, as well as Thorin's pleads for forgiveness until eventually there was silence.

Kili didn't leave Maggie's room that night and made a note to make sure that two of them were always on watch. One to keep an eye on the happenings outside the mountain and one on the king under it.

"He's getting worse." Riley said "Much worse. "And he's really starting to scare my sister . He is literally a raging fucking lunatic."

Riley paced back and forth impatiently, while running his hands through his hair. They'd all heard Thorin's banging on the bedroom door. When Kili finally deemed it safe to leave Maggie there to sleep, some of the company had gathered in secret. The others kept up appearances, in case the King got suspicious.

"It's not good for her, or the baby." Oin cautioned. "I checked the heartbeat today. The rhythm is unsteady."

"She needs to leave." Bilbo realised. "It's not safe for her...them to be here."

"Aye," Balin agreed "But I fear Thorin will not allow her."

"So we'll send a raven." Fili suggested "To Bard. He will be able to get her out of here. At least until Uncle gets his senses back."

"IF he does." Bilbo sighed.

The next day continued like the others before it. Thorin demanded a thorough search of the treasure hoard for the Arkenstone, once again without success. His paranoia had been driven to further depths by news of the Lake-Town survivors arriving in Dale. It had gotten so ridiculous that Thorin had demanded they temporarily stop their search by building a giant barricade of stone. Any trace of his former self was gone and Maggie felt hopeless. She stayed away from him as much as she could and the mountain king would not meet her eyes. Maggie wondered if perhaps somewhere inside, he felt guilty about his previous actions. However, that glimmer of hope faded when Thorin accused Bilbo of keeping something secret from him. Of course, Bilbo hadn't done anything wrong, except keep a small acorn he'd carried with him all the way from Beorn's garden.

Maggie sighed at the thought of that garden. She was sitting on a step writing in her leather journal when sound of horse hooves reached her ears. Next, she heard frantic footsteps running and Thorin shouting orders to head to the gate. In the corner of her eye, Maggie saw Riley who gestured for her to come with him.

Thorin marched through the fortress, inspecting the night's work and the barricade they'd built. It was several feet high and covered most of the entrance, only allowing a bit light shining in. Riley felt a steady unease growing inside him and when they followed Thorin onto the small balcony, he realised why. Nothing could prepare him for the mere shock of the elven army outside Erebor.

"Holy shit…"

The sound of horse hooves came closer and soon enough, a rider on a white stallion appeared on the path leading up to the gate. Maggie's heart skipped a few beats when she realised it was Bard.

"Hail Thorin, son of Thrain!" Bard greeted "We are glad to find you alive beyond hope."

Maggie knew Bard well enough to see through his faux-niceties, just like he had done when they first met those weeks ago after escaping Mirkwood.

"What's he doing?" Riley whispered to Maggie.

"He's stalling." Maggie replied

Bard and Maggie locked eyes and she knew he was trying to tell her something.

"Why do you come to the gates of the King Under the Mountain, armed for war?" Thorin demanded.

In this case, Riley thought, Thorin's skepticism was justified.

"Why does the king under the mountain fence himself in, like a robber in his hold." Bard replied. He showed no fear.

"Good comeback," Riley said, his voice still in a whisper. "I like him."

A small smile crept up on Maggie's lips, remembering that Bard had once told her that her brother sounded like a good man.

"Perhaps it is because I am expecting to be robbed!"

Maggie sighed. "Here we go again."

Riley put an arm around his sister's waist and they watched as Bard tried to talk sense into Thorin. They knew it wouldn't work and that Thorin had made up his mind. He had allowed the madness to take control of his thoughts and feelings. It would take nothing short of a miracle to get through to him.

"My lord, we have not come to rob you, but to seek fair settlement." Bard explained calmly "Like I once did for you. Do you not remember that we are friends?

Thorin Oakenshield, Maggie thought, no longer remembered his friends or even his lover.

"Will you not speak with me?" Bard pleaded "You have a woman in there, who bears your child. The future heir to this kingdom. Would you risk your baby's life on account of gold?

There was silence for a while as Thorin contemplated Bard's words. Then, he nodded at the bowman and Bard dismounted his horse. Thorin walked down the steps leading back into the mountain. Once he was out of sight and earshot. Riley turned to his sister.

"Maggie, come on." he urged her. "It's time to go."

"What?" Maggie asked. "What do you mean?"

She watched as Bilbo carefully flung his rope over the wall. Maggie gaze moved from Riley and Bilbo to Fili who had stayed behind, while the other dwarves followed Thorin back into the mountain. Maggie then understood what they wanted her to do.

"Riley, I don't want to leave you again." Maggie whispered, while she cried.

Riley wiped her tears away with his thumb and leaned his forehead against hers. He didn't want them to part ways again either, but he knew it was for the best.

"It's okay sis," he assured her "We'll see each other again. You're only across the lake."

"Please be careful." Maggie said. "I love you, Riley."

"I love you too, Maggie."

Riley and Maggie hugged each other tightly, making silent promises to find each other again. When they let go of each other, Bard was still talking to Thorin. Riley helped his sister over the wall and Bilbo climbed down after her. Riley listened to the conversation beneath them and when everything fell silent, Riley knew Thorin had seen Maggie running towards Bard who helped her up on the horse. Thorin being silent was far more intimidating than an angry Thorin.

Finally, the King Under the Mountain spoke again. This time, the command was clear. "Be gone! Ere our arrows fly!"

Bard didn't need to be told twice and Riley watched as he turned the horse around and rode off.

To be continued…

Okay! Another long-ish chapter. The next one will be more interesting as we're heading into the battle but lots happened here.

What did you think of Dragon-sickness Thorin? Please let me know your thoughts! As always likes/comments/follows are much appreciated/

PS. I've added a fair few pop-culture references throughout the fic, bonus points and a shout-out if you spot them!