Chapter Fourteen

For Home a Song that Echoes On

The return trip to Erebor was, to say the very least about it, boring and uneventful. That is, that was how it appeared to be from Kili's point of view. Especially once the four dwarves had once more joined up with their travelling party in Ered Luin. Once they might have enjoyed returning to their home away from home or in Kili's and Ori's cases the only home they had known before the reclaiming of Erebor. But now it meant very little to them and they spent a total of two weeks there before the leader of their company said that it was high time for them to return home.

Their companions all sent them strange and questioning looks but wisely kept their mouths shut, knowing full well that the four dwarves would never reveal what they had been doing for the past month and a half, no matter how much they might pester them. There were some, however, who believed it would be wise to inform their king once they had returned to Erebor of his youngest nephew sudden and unexplained disappearance along with three other members of his old company.

Their king would get the truth out of the young prince or from the other three that was for sure. Until then they would keep their mouths shut and returned to the Lonely Mountain by the shortest, safest route they could take through the Misty Mountains with their many carts and wagons.

It was safe and in Kili's mind, quite a boring return trip and they troupe returned to Erebor in record time.

Kili, predictably, disappeared the moment the party was inside Erebor's great doors, leaving his three companions to face his uncle, brother and the rest of their company without him.

"Donna runner, has he?" Dwalin snorted once he had located the three dwarves and was leading them and few other higher members of the party towards the throne room while the rest of the party went about unloading the carts and wagons.

"Aye, something like that." Bofur replied with a wide and cheerful grin. This seemed to catch Dwalin off-guard, for Thorin's Right-Hand man and Head of his Guard blinked at the miner slash toymaker in surprised confusion before shrugging his massive shoulders and continued to lead the way to the throne room.

Erebor's throne room was a huge and magnificent cavern, with the ancient dwarven kings of old carved into the rich emerald green rock, streams gold of thread through their great beards and armour. The great throne stood beneath a huge pinnacle of emerald rock with rivers of gold cascading down and around it.

Above the head of the throne was the Arkenstone, the Heart of the Mountain, set in a setting of gold than did nothing to diminish the stone great beauty.

Pacing in front of the throne was Thorin Oakenshield, King under the Mountain. In all the years that Thorin had been King, Bofur could count on maybe two hands the times he had actually seen his king sit in the grand throne.

Granted, Bofur wasn't often invited into the throne room all that often but he suspected that his King didn't spend a great deal of time sitting in his throne. He was too used to being on the move to sit ideally by in a throne for hours on end.

The only times Bofur readily knew his King would sit in his throne for hours on end were the times the pointy-eared stick-in-the-muds came to visit. The rest of the time he was either pacing in front of it or took his audience to his private study or to the War room.

"Successful trip?" Thorin asked the leader of their party an old and well-respected dwarf with a dark grey beard known as Frar, as he stopped mid-pace in front of the small party.

"Very well. Very well indeed." Frar replied with a wide grin, showing off his multiple gold teeth.

Thorin nodded his head sharply, his dark blues eyes searching over the party, taking in all the faces whom were present.

"My nephew?" he asked with a long suffering sigh.

"Donna a runner." Dwalin answered with a chuckle for Frar had turned speechless at the question. As good and talented a trader Frar was, he was not at all suited for keeping his King's youngest nephew insight and in check.

"No, he hasn't!" A younger voice rang out around the great cavern and all who stood in front of the grand throne now heard the squabbling of two youngsters.

A very satisfied looking Prince Fili walked into the royal cavern from one of its multiple entrances dragging along with him his rather disgruntled looking younger brother, still dressed in his travelling clothes.

"Getting slack Kee." Fili was saying as he pulled his brother towards the group by the great throne.

"Am not!" Kili replied childishly back, "I just wasn't trying is all! Hello Uncle"

Bofur watched as Thorin blinked repeatedly at his youngest nephew before his face took on a suspicious nature.

Of course this sort of reaction from Thorin was to be expected. Kili had not said so much as a pleasant word to his uncle in years, so for the boy to suddenly greet him with a wide and friendly grin was sure to get Thorin suspicious nature raising its head. But still, he didn't let it stop him from replying to his nephew's surprising greeting.

"Hello Nephew… where have you been?"

"Thought you would know, Uncle?" the boy replied innocently, his brown eyes wide, "with the trading party, of course? Or do you mean right now? Off to see Mother, of course. Would have gotten there if this big lug hadn't jumped me!" He gave his elder brother a playful shove which caused his brother to also look at him in surprise before he shoved him, almost instinctually, back.

There would have probably been a full-out shoving war between the two brothers if Thorin hadn't called them in to order.

"Alright, alright, knock it off the pair of you before you send yourselves off the side of this bridge."

The boys immediately calmed their game but Bofur still noted that elbows were still moving between the boys, seeking out ribs.

The rest of the trading report was quite boring and Bofur honestly wished that Thorin had order the meeting to be held in his study where they could have all sat down instead of being forced to stand for hours on end after a long trip.

He was almost dropping off to sleep before Thorin called the meeting over and for them to go and get some rest.

Bofur dragged his weary cousin and the young scribe – who was all but asleep on his feet – out of the throne room.

He returned Ori to his elder brothers who made a great fuss over him before continuing on his way down to his own chambers that he shared with his cousin, his brother and his brother's steadily growing family – by dwarf standards, it was considered to be quite large but compared to just how large he seen and heard a hobbit family could grown, it was really small in comparison.

"Unka Bofur!" He was tackled the moment he walked in the front door by his two eldest nephews. The youngest of the two, Bofur realised a little sadly was only a few months younger than Frodo.

"Hello you two?" he said as he lifted his the two boys up into his arms, amazed by how much they had both grown in the months that he and Bifur had been away. "Been good?"

"Ye-ah! Presents?"

"Oh no, neither of you deserve any present from yah Uncle Bofur."

"Hello Eir." Bofur greeted his pregnant sister-in-law with a smile as he set his nephews over his shoulder, threatening to toss the eldest completely over it and into Bifur's outstretched and waiting arms.

His sister-in-law gave him an exasperated look before pressing a quick kiss to his and Bifur's cheeks, before clucking her tongue at her sons as they squirmed and giggled on their uncle's shoulders.

"Good trip?" Eir asked as she unloaded her sons from Bofur's shoulders and sent them off to wash their grubby paws.

"Rather. Bombur still in the kitchens?"

"Oh, he's in the kitchen alright but ours rather than the royal un. The King was kind enough to give him the night off when we heard ya would be arriving shortly." Eir replied as she bustled in the direction of the kitchen, motioning for the two travel-weary dwarves to hurry it along.

"Brother! Cousin!" The two dwarves braced themselves as the large red-headed dwarf barrelled out of the kitchen and into them.

"Are you both well? You look well. What was the weather like? Was it good?"

"Bombur!" Eir cried, "Let 'em breath for Mahal's sake!"

"Oh… yes." Bombur said and let go of his older brother and cousin.

"Hello Bombur." Bofur said as he punched his younger brother affectingly in his beefy arms. "What's for dinner?"

"Well…" and the large dwarf was off describing the many meals he had cooked in celebration of their return. The two dwarflings lads were back by the time their father had started describing the second course.

"Dammit Bombur!" Bofur groaned as his stomach rumbled loudly. His brother laughed and slapped on the back before ushering his family into the dining room.

Bofur smiled. It was good to be home.

His mind flickered briefly to Bilbo and Frodo and wished that they too could be here but with a sad little sigh he pushed them from his thoughts. Because when he thought of them, thought of why they weren't here, his rediscovered happiness started to slip away again and the darkness threaten to invade his mind once more.

Soon, he promises himself, soon we will all be together again and this will truly be home.

Author's Note: So Thorin has finally made an appearence since chapter three. This was really just a filler chapter.

Next Chapter: Chapter Fifteen - A Light from the Shadow Shall Spring