Dawn came and Halien stood on the ramparts watching as Bard and her father advanced towards the mountain. Sigrid and Tilda stood next to her, watching their father. Frerin whimpered in his mother's arms, sensing something wrong.

"Hush, now, my son. It will be alright." Halien said, looking at him.

Tilda looked up at Halien. "Will Da be alright?"

Halien nodded. "I hope so."

Sigrid looked at Halien and sighed. "You want to join them, don't you?"

Halien nodded. "I should be there with them, but I must look after my son."

Sigrid came over to her. "Leave him here, with us, Halien. Go get ready. We'll look after him so that you can go and protect Thorin and your family."

Halien looked down at the girl. "Sigrid, I couldn't. I do not want to abandon my son if I should fall in battle."

Sigrid smiled. "Then promise to come back."

Halien looked over at the fields before Erebor and saw her family standing along the wall at the gates. She could hear their worry and fear in her head. Looking down at the girls, she sighed. "Look after him. If I should not return, please raise him like a brother. He needs a family and I do not trust anyone else."

Sigrid took Frerin from her and held him close. "We promise. Now go, Lady Halien. We'll be fine."

Halien nodded, kissed her son's forehead, and hugged the girls before she went to change into armor. She changed out of her dress and into a set of silver armor- like her father's- that was left in his tent. She smiled as she realized that it was her mother's old armor and that her father must have expected her to join them or need the armor. She hooked the belt bearing Fenumë Dagnir around her waist and headed to the stables, mounted into Torwen's saddle, and rode out to join her father and Bard.

"Halien, what are you doing?" Bard asked, staring at her as he saw her in a full set of silver armor.

"I cannot just stand by while my family fights over a treasure that holds such jealousy and hatred. I will not stand by and do nothing, and besides, my magik will come in handy," she said, looking at him.

"But what of Frerin?"

"I left him with your daughters. They promised to look after him and asked me to join you." She said, then looked to her father as he spoke to her.

"I see that you found your mother's armor," he said, nodding in approval. "It suits you well, my dear."

"Thank you, Ada. But I wonder why you would bring it with you here." She said, raising an eyebrow.

Before Thranduil could answer, an arrow hit the stone in front of his elk. They all looked up at the gates of Erebor and saw Thorin with a bow drawn.

"I will put the next one between your eyes," he said, aiming at Thranduil.

"Thorin, stop this!" Halien called, urging Torwen a little further ahead of her father and Bard.

"You come here, as ready for battle as your treacherous father!" Thorin shouted, glaring at her.

"Thorin, I came to try and stop this! I will not stand by and watch as that treasure you are so desperately trying to protect destroys my family! Thorin, please!" She shouted back, trying to reason with him. "Thorin, please, listen to me. I am still your wife, still your queen, and whether you cast me out or not, I still love you. Please, for our son's sake, stop this at once!"

Thorin ignored her and raised the bow he held, aiming an arrow at her. "Go back to your father and the Dragonslayer. I will never welcome you back here." He shot the arrow towards her, but Halien drew Fenumë Dagnir and blocked the arrow swiftly, causing it to become embedded deep into the ground next to her.

"Halien, are you alright?" Bard asked.

"Aye, do not worry about me. There is nothing left for me to reach with that shell of what once was my husband. The Thorin I knew is gone. There is no more reasoning with him." She said, looking at him as she fought back her tears.

Bard looked up at the gate and glared at the dwarven king. The other dwarves looked at him, disturbed that their king would so quickly turn on his queen. Beside him, Thranduil began to speak to the dwarves.

"We have come to tell you the payment of your debt has been offered and accepted."

Thorin looked at him. "What payment? I gave you nothing! You have nothing!"

Bard reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the Arkenstone. "We have this."

Thorin's face fell and he lowered the bow as Kili called them thieves and demanded to know how they came by it before telling them it belongs to the king.

"And the king may have it. With our goodwill." Bard replied, tucking the Arkenstone back into his coat pocket. "But first, he must honor his word."

Thorin began to tell the other dwarves that it was a ruse, a trick, a lie, that the Arkenstone was still within the mountain.

"It's not a trick," Bilbo said, coming forward. "The stone is real. I gave it to them."

The dwarves all turned to look at the hobbit.

"You?" Thorin asked, feeling utterly betrayed by the one person he felt he could trust over everyone else.

Bilbo nodded. "I took it as my fourteenth share."

"You mean to steal from me?"

Bilbo shook his head. "Steal from you? No. I may be a burglar, but I'd like to think I'm an honest one. I'm willing to let it stand against my claim."

"Your claim?" Thorin said, scoffing at that. "Your claim... You have no claim over it, you miserable rat!" He started to advance towards him.

"I was going to give it to you." Bilbo said. "Many times I wanted to, but-"

"But what, thief?" Thorin asked, glaring at him.

"You are changed, Thorin," Bilbo said. "The dwarf I met in Bag End would never have gone back on his word, would never doubt the loyalty of his kin!"

"Do not speak to me of loyalty!" Thorin retorted. "Throw him from the rampart!" he demanded, looking at the company. When they would not heed his command, Thorin tried to do it himself and that was when the dwarves had had enough and pulled Bilbo free from Thorin's grasp. "Curse you! Curse you and the wizard that brought you into this company!"

"Thorin, no!" Halien cried.

"You will not harm my burglar!" Gandalf shouted as he finally joined them. "Please, don't damage him! Return him to me!"

Thorin stared at Gandalf as he came forward.

"You're not making a very splendid figure as King under the Mountain, are you Thorin, son of Thrain?"

Thorin let Bilbo go and glared down at Gandalf. "Never again will I have dealings with wizards or Shire rats!" he spat.

Halien dismounted from Torwen and ran to meet Bilbo as Bofur helped him get to the rope he had used the night before and climbed down the wall. "Are you alright, Bilbo?"

Bilbo nodded and hugged Halien as she embraced him. Behind them, Bard asked if they were resolved, the return of the Arkenstone for what was promised. Halien and Bilbo hurried over to them. Halien looked at Thorin as Bard asked him for his answer.

"Will you have peace? Or war?" Bard asked, fearing the answer that was sure to come.

Halien watched as Thorin looked towards the horizon as a raven landed on the rampart.

"I will have war," he said.