Hey there guys! here's chapter 3 up for you all! I hope you all enjoy this one! xXx

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Chapter 2

Thorin? No. . .it couldn't be. . .not here. . .looking towards the voice, my legs had almost given way, but I forced herself to stay upright. It's him. . .he's actually here. . .he's actually in front of me. . .I wanted to run to him and just take him in my arms, but remember that I never went back to him. . .I'm nervous he might not want me anymore.

"Thorin. . .I-Is it really you?" I ask, still not trusting my eyes.

He smiles as he dismounts his pony. "Of course it's me. You-You look good."

I smile as I blush. "Thank you. So do you."

And he did. He still had his black hair, which had white strands running through, though it didn't diminish from his looks, looking like the veins of silver running through the mines of Erebor. But moustache and beard had grown since the last I saw him and I expected it to be as long as his father's, like he always said it would be. But it was short, barely hanging off his chin. . .although, it did look good on him. Underneath his black furred coat, he wore a blue tunic with black pants and black boots with a fur trim.

He smiles, a smile that can always make my heart flutter. "It's good to see you."

I nod, also smiling. "As it is to see you."

We continue to look at one another when, after a hundred and sixty four years of being apart, the damn breaks and we're suddenly rushing to each other like a raging river. I wrap my arms around his neck, burying my head into his shoulder as I sob, while he wraps and arm around my back, the other on the back of my head. Oh Valar, it felt so good to be in his arms again. . .to have the feeling of comfort, safety and love I had always felt from him. I never ever want to stop experience that feeling again.

"Oh Kana. . .I have missed you." Thorin says softly.

I choke back a sob before replying. "As I have missed you, Thorin. So, so much."

We soon pull back and he uses his thumbs to wipe my tears away before he leans down and presses his lips against mine. Oh Yavannah. . .I do not remember his kiss being so intense before. . .true it was our first kiss and it was innocent and unsure, but now. . .it must be a combination of the love, passion and longing we felt for each other. It makes me feel even more guilty for not going back to him sooner.

Our kiss is soon interrupted by someone clearing their throat. I pull away and blush, forgetting that we have an audience. Thorin just chuckles as he looks down at me. Even though Arcanians are roughly the same height, or taller than dwarves, I had always been shorter than Thorin, since he was tall for a dwarf.

"Can we talk later?" he asks.

I just nod, knowing what he would want to talk about. "Of course."

He smiles and gives me another quick kiss before pulling back, though keeping hold of my hand. Looking back to the others among his company, I gasp as I see two other familiar dwarves.

"Balin? Dwalin?"

Balin smiles as he walks over and we embrace. "Hello again, lass. It has been a long time."

"Far too long, old friend, for that I apologise."

He continues to smile as he pulls away. "No matter my dear, you are here now, that's what matters."

I smile back before turning to Dwalin, who has since made his way over. I gulp ever so slightly. He has certainly become more menacing than before. His muscles have definitely grown and the hair he had on the top of his head has travelled to around his lower head and beard, leaving a bald head covered in tattoos.

I wait nervously as he continues to stare me down, but I still stand straight and stare back. That's when he suddenly grins and slaps my back, with enough force to knock me to the ground, if it wasn't for Thorin keeping me up before shooting a glare at his friend and cousin.

"Do you mind? I don't think my shoulder has recovered from the last greeting you gave me." I say as I roll said shoulder.

He laughs. "Ah, admit it, you missed me too, lass."

I just grin. "I did miss you."

Our attention is brought to footsteps coming closer and we turn to see Shana coming over. I smile as I hold my arm out, allowing her to settle into my side as I wrap the arm around her shoulders.

"Shaylee?" Thorin asks.

I give a smile and shake my head. "No. This is Shana, Shaylee's daughter."

Thorin looks to me in surprise, but smiles as he turns to Shana. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Shana."

Shana smiles back. "As it is to meet you, Thorin. My mother has told me so much about you."

"As much as I am enjoying this reunion, we should find some place to rest for the night. The sun is almost setting." Gandalf suddenly says.

"Oh, of course. Shana and I have a camp set up a little further ahead, if you would like to join us."

Thorin smiles. "That sounds like a good idea."

"If you can, could you spare a dwarf to help Shana bring back the haul we caught? We had just been hunting when we heard the fight."

He nods. "Of course. Fili! Kili!"

"We've got it, uncle!" A voice calls out from the back.

It's my turn to look to Thorin in surprise. "Uncle? Dis?"

He chuckles. "Yes. Dis had two sons."

I smile wide at hearing this news. That's when two dwarrow come by, one blond and one brunette. The blond has long hair with a few braids, a short beard and a moustache which hangs on either side of his lip. The brunette has wild hair, void of braids and a stubble on his face.

"Hi aunt Kana!" The brunette says with a cheeky grin before following Sahana.

"Nice to finally meet you." The blond smiles, continuing on as he also follows her.

Thorin and I chuckle at this before he and the others mount up and follow me up to the campsite, where Snowflake and Starlight snort at me in annoyance. I chuckle as I walk over and pet them.

"I'm sorry we were gone so long, girls. But look, we have company."

They look over at Gandalf's horse and the ponies before neighing at them, who answer back. I smile as I kiss their snouts before grabbing my pot and going to the lake we found hunting to fill it up. By the time I return, Shana, Fili and Kili have returned with the kill. Some of the dwarves begin to skin and clean them.

Balin looks up as I return. "We were just saying to your niece, this is a good haul you two managed to gather."

I smile and open my mouth to answer, but am interrupted.

"Mother." Shana says to the old dwarf.

Balin blinks as he looks to her. "I beg your pardon."

"She's my mother, not my aunt."

This causes the others to look at me.

"I thought you said she's Shaylee's daughter?" Thorin says questioningly.

I can tell what he's thinking, so I hurry to ease him from those thoughts.

"She is. Though, I raised her when she died."

Thorin, Balin and Dwalin look distraught at hearing this.

"Oh, Kana. . .I am so sorry." Thorin says sympathetically.

I give a thankful smile. "Don't be. It was a long time ago now."

He nods, thankfully letting the subject drop. After putting the pot over the fire to boil, I walk over to Shana and gently take her face into my hands before touching our foreheads together.

'Are you alright?' I ask, reverting back to our native tongue.

She nods. 'I'm fine, don't worry.' she then has a mischievous look as she says, 'I would ask if you are alright, but after that kiss, I know my answer.'

She giggles as I swat her on the shoulder. 'Be careful, you're not too old for a slap.'

She giggles again before going to her horse.

"Do I want to know what that was about?" Thorin asks as he stands beside me.

I smile. "Definitely not." I look up at him and just look at him for a moment, causing him to give me a questioning look. "It really is good to see you."

He smiles back. "As it is to see you." he pauses for a moment before he takes my hand. "Come with me."

He leads me over to the cliff edge. I knew that the time has come for some explaining to do. I'll admit, I was nervous about what he would say. I just hoped he wouldn't be too angry at me.

As we move past the others, I notice some of them looking at Shana and I with disapproval. I know that look, having seen it so many times. Showing off too much skin has always been a problem for some people.

"I see Shana and I have some friends to make."

Having glanced back and seen the looks, he chuckles. "They'll get used to you."

As we stand at the cliff edge, while not exactly private, it's enough away that we can talk without being overheard. Thorin looks to me as he keeps hold of my hands.

"Kana, what happened? I know you said you were going to come back once your people were settled, but I didn't expect to wait a hundred and sixty four years."

I sigh as I look down. "I know. I didn't plan to be away for so long. I honestly thought I would be ten to twenty years, thirty at most. But it was harder to settle than I thought. We would find somewhere and then be driven out by either the people of who lived nearby, or orcs and other ruffians. We finally found somewhere, almost a hundred years ago. We started to settle down, making our homes in the trees, planting our crops and getting some animals for us to survive on." I start to smile. "Shaylee announced that she was to be married. It was the happiest day of my life. My little sister having found someone to share her life with, to start a family. Her mate, Kailen, was a kind and considerate male, I knew would take care of her and make her happy. When she announced she was pregnant, I was so happy to be an aunt. But, when she was a month away from giving birth, that's when we were attacked by orcs." he squeezes my hands at this. "They came in the night, we weren't prepared. We all fought as best as we could. We lost some good people that day. I-I found Shay next to Kailen's body. He had been killed protecting her and the baby. I knew it would be a matter of time before we lost Shay and the baby. But, in all of this, she begged me for one favour. . .to see her baby."

He looks taken aback by that. "But, the babe was still inside her, wasn't she?"

I nod. "She was."

I just look to my sister. "Shay. . .it's not time for the baby to be born. It won't be for another month."

She nods as she makes and keeps eye contact with me. "I know."

It takes me a while to realise what she means and I shake my head. "No. . .I can't allow that to happen. We would lose you within moments of the birth."

I feel her hand gripping mine. "I know. I'm going to die anyway. . .I can feel it. But, I want to die having seen my baby first. Please, Kana. . .let me have that."

After a moments hesitation, I nod. If this was to be my sister's dying wish, then I'll let her have it.

"Okay, Shay. Let me just find Rhoswyn."

I get up to find our Shaman, but she just pulls me back down. "No. No. . .I want you to do it."

I just look at her in shock. "What? Y-You want me to. . .No. I will allow this to happen, but I won't be the one to do it. I won't be the one responsible for your death."

She just smiles. "You won't be responsible for my death, Kana. You will be responsible for the birth of this baby. I don't trust anyone more than I do you. Please, bring our child into this world."

I look at her. Can I do this? Could I actually consider doing this to my baby sister? Cut her open to birth her baby? But, seeing the look in her eyes. . .I knew I had to. I want to give her the chance to see her baby, and if she wants me to do it. . .then I will. For her.

I nod as I get our Shaman and after getting her blessing, she stays by Shay's side. She puts a piece of leather in Shay's mouth.

"Bite down, child. This will be painful."

After making sure her stomach is clean, I put a hand on it, the other holding the knife hovers just over where I'm about to cut. I just stare at the knife, my hand shaking. I. . .I can't do it. . .I can't. Feeling her take my free hand, I look to her, biting on the leather, giving me a reassuring look and a nod. I take a deep breath and after counting down from three, begin the cut. Her muffled screams ring through the air, causing some of the others to gather around to watch. I block out anything and everything from around me, blocking out her screams, my only focus being on the babe I can now see. Putting the knife aside, I reach inside with both hands and gently pull the baby out, who begins crying at being rudely awaken and pulled from it's home.

After accepting a cloth from my friend, Elfrydah, I get a couple of them to stop the bleeding as much as they can, I want to give Shay as much time as she can with her newborn, I clean up the baby, after cutting the cord.

"Shay, you have a daughter. A beautiful little girl." I inform her with a smile.

I can see her smiling, tears of pain and relief falling. After wrapping her in a clean cloth, the Shaman helps to sit Shay up and I pass the baby to her. She holds her daughter close as I sit behind her. I watch as she and the baby just look at each other, I know that even though words aren't being said, the baby knows how much she is loved.

"What will be her name?" the Shaman asks, ready to take the babe to bless her.

There's no hesitation from Shay. "Shana. Her name will be Shana. A mixture of her mother and her aunt."

I smile, feeling honoured she would put my name into her daughter. Before Rhoswyn takes Shana, Shay leans down and presses a kiss.

"I may not be there for you, Shana, but I will always love you and be there for you. I know you will be well loved. Be strong my love, grow up happy and live your life to the best. I love you."

She hesitantly handed the baby over. As Rhoswyn takes the baby, Shay leans heavily against me. I hold her close, knowing she wouldn't have much time left.

"Thank you. . .thank you for giving me that chance. . ."

I smile down at her, blinking back tears. "You wanted to see her. I wasn't going to stop that."

She smiles as she takes her hand. "Kana, I know you'll take good care of her. . .treat her like your own. . .but please. . .don't forget your happiness. . .When you can, find him. . .find Thorin. . .you've spent your time looking out for us. . .it's time you looked out for you. I-I want you to be happy. . .and I know you will be with him."

I just nod as I look at her, not wanting our last moments to be arguing. "I will. I promise, I will find him."

She also nods. "Good. . .remember. . .mother, father and I will always watch over you. . .I love you Kana."

I smile down at her. "I love you too, Shay."

A second later, she takes her last breath, a smile still on her face. That's when I finally allow the tears to fall. Holding my sister close to me, I let out almost a hundred years of grief and guilt, not noticing the clan gathering in a circle around us, signing a lament for her.

I look at my hands in Thorin's and can still see her blood on them. I just shake my head to get rid of the image, before feeling Thorin pull me into him.

"I'm sorry, Kana. I'm so sorry you had to go through that. No one should have to do that, especially to someone they love."

I just hold him close, resting my head on his shoulder. We stay like that for a few moments.

"Where did you go after?"

I hesitate for a moment, knowing he won't be happy. "We went to the only place we could go. We went to Rivendell."

After feeling him tense, I immediately pull back and rest my hands on his chest.

"No, none of that Thorin, I know how you feel about Thranduil, believe me, I feel the same as you. But Lord Elrond is nothing like him. He took us in the moment he saw us, he gave us a home within his trees. For the first time in a long time, we felt safe. We had somewhere we could live in peace and raise our children. How could I pass that up for my people? How could I keep up my hatred of elves and let this opportunity pass. Tell me, Thorin, if you had no other choice, would you do it? Turn your people and loved ones away from somewhere safe?"

He looks to me for a moment before sighing. "No. I couldn't. I don't blame you for making that choice. I'm glad you found somewhere safe."

I smile, relieved he wouldn't be angry by that. "Once we made that our home, I would have come found you, but I couldn't leave Shana, and I couldn't take her with me, being so young. I made a promise to myself that once she was old enough, and I knew she would be able to take care of herself, I would come find you. It just. . .took me longer than I thought to do that."

He nods. "So I hear. Sounds like you've had a rough time, and I'm sorry. Hearing everything you've told me, I wish I could have been there for you."

I smile. "I know. And thank you."

He smiles back. He opens his mouth to say something before Shana comes up. "Mother, Thorin, sorry to interrupt, but dinner is ready."

I smile at her. "Thank you, my Sparrow, we'll be there in a moment."

She smiles as she returns to the others. Thorin turns to me with a smile.

"Sparrow?"

I chuckle. "She used to flutter around so much as a child, I began calling her Sparrow and it stuck."

He also chuckles before he reaches up to his neck and I gasp as, from under his shirt, he pulls out the silver bracelet I gave to him, now on a silver chain.

"Remember our promise?"

I smile. "You mean the promise I made and broke?"

He waves his hand dismissively. "Details. Do you want to fulfil that promise? Allow me to court you?"

I look at him, my smile growing. "Yes. I will." He smiles back as he reaches to untie the chain, but I hold my hand up. "No, please. Keep it. Consider it a courting gift instead of my promise."

His smile widens as he drops his hand before reaching up to my hair. "May I?"

I smile and nod, knowing what he's going to do. He takes a part of my hair that doesn't have feathers or beads in and makes a braid before taking one of his beads off and clipping it on.

"There. Perfect. Now, everyone will know you are spoken for."

I smile as I throw my arms around him. "Finally."

He chuckles as he holds me close for a moment before pulling away and into another kiss, this time full of passion, love and a promise for a new beginning.

"Oi! Love birds! Food's getting cold!" we hear one of the dwarves say.

I smile as we pull away, take his hand and we join the others, who cheer at us. Thorin and I sit together, with Shana on my other side – after hugging me that is – and we eat. Introductions are made and I meet all the others, realising Dori and Gloin are the two dwarves who were looking at Shana and I in disapproval.

After a lovely dinner, which I thank Bombur for, we sit around talking before beginning to get some sleep. Thorin leaves Fili and Kili on first watch. I decide to take watch with them and after kissing Thorin and Shana goodnight, stand by the cliff edge, an arrow notched onto my bow. I smile as I look over the horizon, for once, the future is looking bright, and it's a future I cannot wait to see.

Well, there's chapter 3, hope you all enjoyed it and will stay tuned for the next one xXx