The dwarves of Erebor tried to get Halien to stand, but she would not leave Thorin's side. Eventually, Dain and some of his men came to claim Fili, Kili, and Thorin's bodies. When they began to haul them away, to prepare them for burial, she got to her feet and followed them down to the streets of Dale. Bard came to greet them, but he saw Dain Ironfoot leading his men in somberness to the great hall. He saw the wagon that carried the bodies of Fili, Kili, and Thorin and looked up to see Halien following them. He wanted to go to her, to comfort her, but she had a sad aura about her that radiated off her. He watched in silence as she followed the dwarves- her face ashen and stained with tears- to the great hall where they prepared them for the burial ceremony.

The funeral procession led down from Dale to the Hall of the Kings, where it had been decided that Thorin was to be buried and his sword- the legendary Goblin Cleaver, Orcrist- placed upon his tomb to warn against Orcs or Goblins. Everyone came to the funeral, giving their condolences to Halien and the dwarves. Halien had lost the only person she had ever given everything to, the one person who had truly accepted her and never turned her away.

Halien stood in silence as she watched them place Thorin's body into the stone casket. As the dwarvish prayers were said, she remembered a song she had sung for her mother shortly after she learned of her passing. She felt tears brew in her eyes as she began to sing the lament.

"Uich gwennen na 'wanath ah na dhín. An uich gwennen na ringyrn ambar hen. Boe naid bain gwannathar, Boe cuil ban firitha. Boe naer gwannathach…" she sang in elvish, her voice never shaking despite her own sorrow and grief. She looked at the casket as the lid was lowered, seeing a final glimpse of her husband before his stone likeness replaced him. She repeated the lament, but in the Common Tongue. "You are not bound to loss and silence. For you are not bound to the circles of this world. All things must pass away, All life is doomed to fade. Sorrowing you must go…"

Bard and the others all looked at her, watching as she sang to her husband, not knowing if he would hear her from beyond. Bard wanted nothing more than to run to her side, to comfort her, but her sadness was overwhelming and he had never seen anyone so distraught or sorrowful in his life. It broke her heart to see her like this.

Eventually, the procession ended and everyone began to clear out, but Bard looked at Halien as he stopped next to her. "Halien, I'm so sorry..." he said. He started to reach out to touch her comfortingly, but the look of emptiness, grief, loneliness, and loss of hope and faith radiated in her eyes, forcing him to let his hand fall to his side and leave her alone to grieve.

As the days went by, while Halien grieved alone in the tomb, Frerin was cared for by some of the women in Dale, a few of them acting as a wet nurse. After nearly a month, though, Bard brought Frerin with him and went to Erebor and asked Dain Ironfoot, the current King under the Mountain- and cousin of Thorin and the only descendant of Durin old enough to take the throne of Erebor- if he could see Halien.

"You can see her, aye, but I must warn you that she has not slept or eaten in almost as long as she has mourned," Dain said, leading Bard to the tomb of Thorin Oakenshield. Inside, they found Halien, garbed in black with her starlight hair and pale skin the only contrasts against her mourning clothes.

Bard went up to her and held her as she stared at the tomb of her king. Eventually, Halien looked at him. "Bard, what am I to do? Without Thorin, I feel like I am nothing..."

Bard looked at her. "Thorin is never going to come back, but a part of him still lives within you, your son, and all those who had accompanied you and Thorin on the quest to retake the mountain. He lives on in so many others who look to him as an example of what to fight for, to strive to be."

Halien found wisdom in his words and looked behind her as her companions, each of the dwarves save Thorin and his nephews- her nephews- Fili and Kili, came into the chamber and smiled at her.

"Come back into the light of day, lass," Bofur asked, looking at the others. "We have all grieved for Thorin and we want you to be happy. We know that you will never forget Thorin, nor will anyone else, we need you to rejoin the world and rebuild anew as you promised. Carry out that promise for Thorin, in his memory."

Halien saw that her time grieving was over and she needed to once more be a part of the world. She took her son from Bard and looked down at him. "My dear sweet boy..." She kissed his forehead, happy to see him well and asleep. She looked up at Bard and asked, "Where is Dain?"

"I am here, lassie," he said, coming into the tomb.

"Dain, you have been named King under the Mountain as Thorin is dead, Fili and Kili with him, and my son not being of age to assume his father's throne. I am eternally grateful to you for letting me mourn as you have. I must ask, though, that while my son is the rightful heir to the throne of the Mountain, he be treated with the same respect his father would have received. I do not expect you to give up the throne once my son is of age, but please, do not cast him aside."

Dain nodded. "I promise this, lassie: when Frerin is of age, he may take up a position as a noble in the halls of Erebor and act as an advisor to me. He is family and blood, a true son of Durin. He will be welcomed in these halls as you are." Dain said. "I would also like to offer you this: I will give you the title of Queen Regent, which allows you to still hold sway over what goes on with Erebor until another queen rises. When another queen is chosen- when I find a wife to bear me an heir and to share my life with as Thorin did in you- or you find another husband- should you ever find another to love as you did Thorin- I do respectfully ask that you step down as queen. I would like you to remain a Lady of Erebor, though. Thorin was a great man and you have proven yourself to be a great woman. Elf or no, you have a home here in Erebor whenever you like."

Halien smiled, for the first time in weeks. "Thank you, Dain. I hope that I can be a voice of reason where Thorin cannot."

Looking back at her husband's tomb once more, Halien Greenleaf finally left Erebor after weeks of mourning and returned with her son and Bard to Dale, bidding her companions farewell until the next time they met.

A few years had gone by and Dale was rebuilt and once more functioning as the center of trade. Merchants returned to sell their wares and the people of the Lake had taken up permanent residence within the city. Bard had been named King of Dale, taking his position as the ruler of the city due to his relation to Girion, the last king, and his assumed role as the Master of the Lake. Bard had asked Halien to stay at court with him, to help him pull Dale from the ashes and help him reestablish its laws and way of life. Halien agreed and lived with Bard and his family in the castle. After some time, Frerin had grown older and when he began to hear the stories of his father, he asked Halien to tell him more about the man he never knew.

Frerin had grown to see Bard as his father, which saddened and made Halien very happy at the same time. Halien told her son of his father, Thorin Oakenshield, and the great man he was. Frerin asked what Bard was to them then- if not his father- and Halien told him that Bard was more than a friend to them, he was family. She told him that Bard had taken them in and helped her to raise him. Halien told Frerin that Bard had stepped up and acted as his father in place of Thorin. Frerin understood, as young as he was, and was overjoyed when Bard later asked his mother to marry him. Halien had realized that she had grown to love Bard as much as she had Thorin and accepted. It had been long enough since Thorin's death that she did not feel like she was betraying the man she loved, but rather moving on and living her life in his memory.

Bard knew that Halien's heart would always lay at rest with Thorin, but he loved her nonetheless and raised Frerin as his own. Halien was glad to finally be finding happiness once more and wouldn't have chosen anyone else but Bard to find that happiness in. When he came of age, Frerin went to live in Erebor with his father's cousin, Dain Ironfoot asked him to serve at his side. Dain granted him a station, naming him a Lord of Erebor as he promised Halien years before. Frerin was satisfied with that and lived in Erebor, serving his father's cousin. Later, Halien and Bard were blessed with twin boys and a daughter- Fili II and Kili II and their sister, Melian. Their eldest brother, Bain, was to succeed their father upon his death. They have lived in Dale ever since.