Aaaand here I am again! This is probably the quickest I have EVER updated my stories EVER! xD

It's crazy, but this is the only fanfiction of mine that I feel I can actually get inspiration for lately. I want to do my other ones, but nothing is coming to me. With "Home Is", I need to actually watch BotFA again because it's been a while and that story is getting into the 3rd movie like this one. And then my other two, "Love is Patient" and "Friendship Caught on Fire"...yeah, nothing is coming to me for those, which is weird. So, in case any of you were wondering about my other stories: that's the update.

Anyway, here we go! Onto the next chapter! Have fun!

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With her anger rising and her heart breaking all at once as a result of her less than pleasant reunion with Thorin, Aelin stormed from the treasure room. She was surprised to find Bilbo waiting at the top of the staircase.

"Bilbo! I didn't expect to see you there. Were you waiting for me?" she asked him.

"Indeed, I was. I only just got here," he replied. "I wanted to be sure everything went...well, let me put it this way: I wanted to be sure that Thorin didn't lash out at you too harshly."

"I suppose he told you about my leaving?" she inquired.

He nodded. "Let's not dwell on that, now," he said. "You've come back and that's what matters."

"Evidently not to Thorin, anymore," she commented. "What about the others?"

Bilbo grinned. "Come with me and you will find out."

With that, he led her through the corridor, down a few more series of steps until they came to a small room, where Aelin could hear excited chattering from down the hall before she even got there. Her heart leapt at knowing that she was about to see the others again, but at the same time, she was nervous that they would be angry at her for leaving. Especially Nori. She was afraid to face him, most of all.

They turned into the doorway and Bilbo called out, "Everyone! Look who else is back!"

She was greeted immediately with a chorus of loud, boisterous voices crying out her name. Ori and Dori were the first to get to her and embrace her. Aelin was surprised to have received such a warm welcome back, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. She was just happy to be with her friends again.

Balin approached her and said with joy, "I'm so glad to see you safe and well, my dear."

"Likewise to you, Balin," she replied as she hugged him.

Dwalin then came up to her and unexpectedly ruffled her hair. "You just couldn't stay away from us for long, could you, lass?" he asked cheekily.

Aelin chuckled. "It would seem I have grown quite fond of you lads, so no, I could not."

After that, she was approached by Gloin, Bombur and Bifur, who welcomed her back with eagerness. The last one to greet her was Nori. Everyone watched intently as Nori went up to her. Aelin swallowed nervously, ready to take whatever scolding words he was about to throw at her. He already looked perturbed as it was.

He walked right up to her, looked her in the eye for a moment and then stated, holding up a finger pointed at her, "I swear, if you weren't a woman and my sister, I would punch you."

Then, to Aelin's astonishment, Nori swiftly took her in his arms and hugged her tightly. "Don't you ever leave us again. You hear me?" he said in her ear. "Don't you ever do something stupid like that again. You had me worried."

Aelin hugged him back and her body relaxed. Nori wasn't angry with her and that gave her a great sense of relief. "I won't...I promise," she said to him. Then, in the next second, she tensed back up as she realized Nori might have just slipped up. "Nori…," she whispered into his ear, "...you just called me your sister in front of everyone."

"Oh, right!" Nori said, easing her out of his hold and facing her again. "Well, in order to explain why you had left...I told everyone the truth about us."

"You...you did?" she asked in surprise.

He nodded. "I told Thorin first shortly after you left, then I told Dori and Ori privately before telling everyone else. They all know about our kinship and our father being in Laketown."

"Oh..I see," she replied, still a bit startled to find out that everyone suddenly knew their secret. "How did your brothers take it?"

"Dori was a bit startled, but he shortly came around. He was a bit perturbed that I never told him. Ori, of course, was thrilled."

"Which leads us to another thing you all should know," then spoke up Fili. Once everyone's attention was on him, he said, "Kili and I were going to tell all of you, but then we figured that it would be best coming from Aelin."

At first, Aelin wasn't quite sure what he was talking about, but then she caught Kili subtly pointing to the tiny cut on his neck. Seeing his hint, she then realized what they were saying she should tell the others.

Mainly, she looked at Nori but said loud enough for everyone to hear, "Norin is dead. I killed him."

"You...what?" was Nori's stunned reply.

"What happened?" asked Balin.

"When the dragon left the mountain and I realized he was going towards Laketown, I went as fast as I could to find Fill, Kili, Bofur and Oin and get them out," Aelin explained. "I found them at Bard's home, but Norin was out there with them, holding Kili hostage with a knife at his throat. I confronted Norin with my bow drawn and, of course, he had come for me and was threatening them to bring him to me. While he was distracted, Fili wounded him with a dagger, gave it to me and I dealt the final blow." Then she took hold of Nori's shoulders and said to him, "Our father is gone. He is no longer a threat to us."

Nori was speechless. He didn't say anything, but just looked down to the floor in shock, processing all the information Aelin had just given him.

"You...killed your own father?" asked Bilbo, astonished.

She said in reply, "He may have helped bring me into this world, but he was not my father. He was going to kill Kili and, if given the chance, he would've killed the others, too. He was trying to get to me, but I was never going to go anywhere with him. And the last place he needed to be was anywhere near this mountain, especially with all that treasure down below. We didn't need him sneaking in here trying to steal any of it. He was too dangerous to kept alive."

At the mention of the word "treasure", everyone awkwardly looked away, which confused Aelin at first. That was until Dwalin asked hesitantly, "I take it you have...seen Thorin?"

She then understood why everyone's demeanor had suddenly changed and her expression, too, switched to one of solemnity. "Aye...I have," she answered.

"He's...changed," was all Dwalin was able to say.

"So I've noticed," Aelin said back flatly.

"How did he react to you being back?"

"About as well as you can expect."

"Aye...I am sorry. You deserved a better reunion than what I can assume you got."

"Let me put it this way: he assumed I had chosen Fili and Kili over him because I went to Laketown to save them, he's gone back to calling me 'woman' and he thinks I'm a traitor for multiple reasons."

"What?" Fili and Kili both asked in unison.

Then Gloin asked, "What other reasons would he have for thinking you're a traitor?"

"Well, leaving, for one," Aelin replied, "and...this one was rather abrupt, but...Thorin proposed marriage and I refused."

Everyone was flabbergasted at this news.

"He what?!" Balin cried out.

"Thorin proposed?" asked Nori.

"You refused him?" then asked Dwalin.

"Of course, I did!" Aelin replied. "I am not going to marry Thorin while he's in the state that he's in. That's not the Dwarf I fell in love with." She pointed towards the doorway and kept going, "Whoever that is back in the treasure chamber, it is not Thorin. When he proposed to me, there was no love in his eyes. He only mentioned the wealth and power I could gain if I married him. There was no talk of love or the happy life we could have. It was not a true proposal and I couldn't accept it."

Then Dori stepped forward and said while shaking his head, "Wait, wait, wait...I'm confused. Why would he make all those accusations against you and then suddenly propose to you? That doesn't make sense."

Aelin just shrugged and sighed. "Believe me, I have no idea. It made no sense to me either. But, because I rejected his offer, he now thinks I've betrayed him twice." She looked over to Balin and her eyes turned sad. "Balin...is there anything we can do?"

He exhaled sharply and said in reply, "All we can do for now...is just ride the storm out." Then he waved a hand dismissively and said, "But enough of that now. We're just glad you've come back, Aelin."

"As am I...and I'm never leaving again," she promised.

"Thank you for coming back for us and saving us," added Bofur.

"Of course," she said with a smile.

While the others all turned away and began conversing with one another, Nori pulled her out in the hallway to speak with her privately.

"Before you say anything, Nori," Aelin began, "I want to apologize. You warned me against listening to Norin's words and I let them corrupt my mind. I am sorry. I believed his poisonous words and now, because of my mistake, I may have ruined everything with Thorin."

"No, you have not," said Nori. "Thorin has not been himself since Smaug was taken down. He's changed so much in so little time; we've all seen it. I believe that, had he not gone through this change, he would have been much more forgiving to you, just as the rest of us were. And I don't blame you. Norin had a way with words that could mess with your mind, even if you try to resist. He was cunning and evil and, if I'm being honest, I'm glad you killed him. That way, we no longer have to be living our lives looking over our shoulders. I also find it even more poetic that he died by your hand."

Aelin just humphed in amusement. "Well, I'm glad you think so," she said, relieved that Nori wasn't put off with her. Then she piped up, "What happened here after I left? What happened with Smaug?"

Nori let out a huff and then proceeded to inform her of everything that had happened after she had left. The Dwarves had sent Bilbo in to find the Arkenstone, Smaug had awoken while he was in there and they had all charged inside to aid the Hobbit. They escaped the treasure chamber and had to quietly sneak through the mountain to avoid being discovered by the dragon. They had made their way to the Western Guardroom, where they discovered the room had been sealed off by fallen debris and there were corpses of Dwarf men and women scattered about the room and they had believed that they were Dwarves of Erebor who had come into that room hoping to escape when Smaug first attacked, but had ended up being trapped and suffocated to death. Thorin swore he would not end up dying the way they did and decided they were going to take a stand against Smaug, leading him to the forges and taking him down there. They led Smaug to the forges where they had a hard-fought battle against him. After getting the forges lit by dragonfire, they had melted a large amount of gold and had tried to drown the dragon in it. However, Smaug had survived and, in his rage, he fled the mountain, vowing that he would have his revenge against them by attacking Laketown in retaliation.

After hearing the full tale, Aelin let out a sharp exhale as if she hadn't been breathing the entire time. That explained why Smaug had suddenly gone to Laketown; he had been provoked by the company, who had tried to take him down.

"That's quite the endeavor you all undertook," she commented. "I'm just glad that you all made it out alive. When I saw the dragon emerge from the mountain, I had feared the worst."

"It would take more than an angry dragon to take out the company of Thorin Oakenshield!" Nori declared with pride, making Aelin chuckle. Although, after he made this comment, his face suddenly fell and his expression turned serious.

"Nori? What's wrong?" she asked him, seeing this sudden change.

"Aelin...there's something you need to know," he told her.

She didn't know whether to be nervous or worried about what he was about to tell her. "What is it?" she asked.

Nori took her hand and stated, "Come with me. There was something in the Western Guardroom...something you need to see."

Aelin now sat alone on a bench in an empty corridor, staring at the wall across from her. She had not been prepared for what Nori had shown her and her mind was still trying to process everything. Her eyes were red and her face was stained with tears. Whether they were tears of sorrow or tears of joy, she really didn't know.

In her hands, she cradled something Nori had given to her tightly and she averted her gaze down to it, running her thumb over the surface.

Suddenly, a low voice spoke nearby, "What is that?"

Startled, Aelin jumped up from the bench and whipped around to see Thorin suddenly stomping down the corridor towards her. He looked furious and she took a few steps back, clutching the item she held tighter.

"In your hand?" he added to his previous question.

"It's nothing," she replied defensively.

He eyed her suspiciously and demanded, "Show me."

She hated that Thorin was being so quick to assume she had done something wrong. She closed her eyes, sighed heavily and then opened up her palm to him.

In her hand was a golden amulet; it was a teardrop-shaped casing of twisted gold with Dwarven designs engraved on it and inside of it was a glittering emerald. At the bottom of the amulet hung a diamond on a tiny chain link.

Thorin looked down at the necklace and the fury in his eyes diminished. Rather, he now appeared more curious as to why Aelin had such a thing. "I have seen this before...but where?" he asked, more to himself.

"The Western Guardroom," she answered him. When he appeared confused as to how she knew, she explained, "I just came from there with Nori."

"Yes…," he said, still looking wary. "It was on one of the bodies." As he remembered that fact, he suddenly was under the impression that Aelin and Nori had looted the corpses and was about to accuse her of those actions. However, just as he was about to, he stopped himself. He was surprised to find Aelin's face twitching as she was struggling to fight back tears. It was then he also noticed the tear stains on her cheeks.

His face seemed to soften a little as he then inquired, "Have you...been crying?"

She turned her attention to the necklace in her hand and said in answer, "Yes...because this pendant...belonged to my mother."

"Y-your mother…?" Thorin asked, astonished and at a loss for words.

Aelin nodded and went on to tell him what had happened.

Nori took Aelin to the Western Guardroom as he had said and Aelin was shocked as she beheld for herself the many bodies strewn about the room. To see all that death before her was overwhelming and her heart ached in sorrow for the lives that were lost in that room.

"By the gods…!" she quietly said to herself.

"Aye…," said Nori.

"I can't even imagine the suffering these poor souls must have endured," Aelin spoke, looking around the room.

Nori had started making his way towards the center of the room. "Over here," he said, motioning with his head for her to follow. As she went over to him, he told her, "This one particular body caught my eye. I didn't recognize them, but...I did recognize something that they were wearing."

Curious, Aelin looked down at the body he was standing next to. As it had been in decay for who knew how long, she didn't recognize the face. Then she caught sight of a necklace around the Dwarf's neck and her hands came up to her mouth. She knew this necklace.

Knowing she would probably be unable to speak for a moment, Nori said, "I remembered this necklace in a sketching that you had showed me a long time ago. I would have just taken it and kept it with me, but we were heading to the forges and I didn't want to risk losing it in the fray. Aelin...this Dwarf is Aela...your mother."

Tears immediately came to Aelin's eyes at hearing Nori say the words "your mother" to her. Still with her hands over her mouth, she slowly fell to her knees, weeping quietly.

Nori went on, "I have a strong feeling that she came to Erebor after she left you with your uncle. I also had the feeling...that she was from here originally. There were some records still intact and I had Balin look into it for me...and he confirmed my hunch."

Aelin's crying grew even harder. She reached down and took the necklace in her hands, cradling it gently.

"Mother…," she wept.

"Aelin, your mother was a Dwarf of Erebor. The blood of Durin's folk runs through your veins," Nori told her.

She was so overwhelmed at all this new information that all she could do was continue to cry, clutching her mother's necklace in her hand and leaning her forehead against her closed fist.

Nori knelt beside her and placed a comforting arm around her shoulders, holding her close. He knew this would be a lot for her to take in, so he was patient and let her have a few moments to let out her emotions.

Finally, she said in a cracked voice, "Back in Rivendell...Thorin once told me that Erebor was a home for all Dwarves and that even I could have a place here. His words to me were, 'Perhaps you may find that Erebor is where you really belong and there, you may just find all the answers you've been seeking your whole life.' I know it's entirely impossible, but it's almost is if...he knew…"

"Did you know, Thorin? Did you know about my mother?" Aelin asked Thorin after recounting her story.

For a second, he said nothing. He too looked just as shocked as Aelin had been. Then he shook his head. "No...no, I did not," he said.

His eyes found hers and she found herself surprised. Thorin wasn't angry anymore. At first, he had looked confused and then in shock. Now, his expression was softening more and he appeared almost...normal.

"You are a Dwarf of Erebor…," he simply stated in astonishment.

"Evidently, I am," she said, pocketing Aela's necklace. "I never knew where my mother came from." Then a tiny chuckle escaped her lips. "Honestly...I think that explains why I never felt like I belonged in any of the places I went. I was never meant to be in Ered Luin or anywhere else."

"You were meant to be here," Thorin finished for her in a quiet voice.

Aelin nodded and a couple tears fell from her eyes. To her surprise, Thorin then reached up and gently brushed her tears away and she flinched, startled at his actions. He seemed to take no notice as he laid his hand on her cheek.

He went on to say, "I knew there was something special about you. You always thought Erebor was never a place for you and that going on this journey would hold nothing for you, but that was never true. Coming here and being on this journey...it is clear that this was your destiny."

"My destiny?" Aelin repeated.

"As you said, I once told you that in coming to Erebor, you would find the answers you were seeking," he replied. "On this journey, you have discovered Nori was your brother, you found your father and-"

"Wait...you know about my father?" she interrupted.

"Nori told me," he answered. Then he continued, "And here, you finally found out the truth about your mother and where she went after you were born. You have learned of your birth family while you've gained a new family with the company. You have found your true home here in Erebor. And...you found love."

Aelin's eyes lifted in astonishment. When she looked into Thorin's eyes and face, there was no malice or even a hint of anything different as there had been earlier that day. He was looking at her with kindness and love, just as he used to. And, to surprise her even more, he was smiling!

"Thorin…?" she asked, wondering if perhaps he was now back to normal and the Dwarf she loved was standing before her.

Before he could say anything back, Dwalin's voice was then heard from down the hall. "Thorin...survivors from Laketown. They're streaming into Dale," he informed Thorin.

It was then Thorin's face morphed back into a stoic and angry look, right before Aelin's eyes. "No, no, no...he was back to himself just now…," she thought dejectedly.

Thorin turned away and said to Dwalin in a loud voice as he left Aelin and walked away, "Call everyone to the gate. To the gate! Now!"

Aelin let out a frustrated sigh. For a brief moment, she had glimpsed the Thorin she knew again. He had been there, she knew it! Although, because of that, she now knew it was possible to get Thorin back to normal again; that the real Thorin was indeed just buried deep inside him.

"He was in his right mind, I know he was," she said out loud. "For just a moment, he was there in front of me. I saw it in his eyes...I saw his love, his genuine care, his happiness at learning I was...a Dwarf of Erebor." She sighed. "A Dwarf of Erebor...who would've thought that a Dwarf like me could hail from one of the most prestigious Dwarven kingdoms in all of Middle-Earth?" Then she let out a huff again. "It is possible to get Thorin back to normal. I just saw it with my own eyes. I have to keep trying. There's got to be a way to cure his sickness. I will find a way."

Aelin then took out her mother's necklace and turned it over a few times in her hands, now feeling almost an entirely new sense of purpose. She had a new mission to undertake...a destiny she was meant to fulfill.

.

There you have it!

The surprise twist I mentioned: Aelin is actually a Dwarf of Erebor; her mother was from there. That will change things from this point on, especially Aelin's way of thinking and how she views things.

A warning: there may be another chapter coming soon, but after that, it may be a little while. As I mentioned at the beginning, I haven't watched BotFA in a long time and I don't remember exactly how everything plays out. I've already flipped a couple of the scenes with this chapter, but I want to make sure that I do everything in the correct sequence and whatnot. So I need to find time to watch the movie again (oh, boy...! Prepare the tissues, people...) and make sure I know what I'm doing.

I hope you all enjoyed this. The journey will continue again soon!

Love you all! Leave a review or PM for me!