Greetings, lovelies!

First of all, it's 2019! How crazy is that?

I don't have much else to say other than I hope you enjoy my first chapter of the new year. You may like me a little better after this one xD

Happy reading!

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Right away, the Elves began marching towards the hills, with Thranduil at the head. Dain continued riding up the hill, shouting things to get his troops rallied for the fight.

Just as Dain reached the top, he cried out, "Send in the goats!" Right then, his forces separated and a horde of horned goats with Dwarven riders almost as big as the entire army came running forward, heading down the hill.

Thranduil gave a command to his army and his soldiers fired a volley of arrows towards the incoming Dwarves. Dain shouted to the soldiers behind him and a few ballistas came forth, firing large wooden rods with sharp, spinning blades. As the arrows and the ballista shots collided, the arrows were shredded in midair and the ballista rods smashed into the Elven army, sending some of the Elves flying back.

"How do you like that, the old twirly-whirlies?" Dain taunted them. "Ha, you buggers!"

Thranduil had his archers fire again and the Dwarves simply repeated their retaliation by sending their spinning, bladed ballista rods back and destroying the arrows.

Back up on the rampart, Aelin commented at the fighting she was watching, "This is madness."

"This is politics," Nori retorted next to her.

By this point, the Dwarven riders on their goats were fast approaching the Elves and they hastily moved back to prepare for impact. Within seconds, the Dwarf army clashed with the Elven army and the battle began.

The rest of the company further down the rampart all cheered as the Iron Hill Dwarves began their attack.

"This is not what I wanted to happen," said Aelin in despair. "This is the opposite of what I wanted the outcome to be."

"You had no control over what would happen, sister," replied Nori. "That and you couldn't have predicted Dain would show. None of us could have."

Aelin had felt so strongly that her plan with the Arkenstone would work. She was so sure that Thorin would finally honor his word, give Bard and Laketown what they wanted and the greater issue would be peacefully resolved. The men of Laketown and the Elves of Mirkwood would return to their respective territories and there would be no need for further conflict. She would've honored her bargain with Thranduil and given him his gems and then everything would be over. It all seemed like it would go smoothly.

But she had been completely wrong and everything was crashing down around her.

Then, to only add to all of that, there was a loud rumbling sound coming from further away that shook the ground and stopped all activity. All eyes looked up in shock towards the hills close to where the Dwarves had come from. There was something coming...something from underground.

"What's going on?" asked Aelin, taking a step away from the ledge.

Nori simply shook his head, bewildered, in response.

Suddenly, something burst forth from underneath the earth and a large, spiked mouth attached to a long, grey body emerged with a guttural roar, crushing the rocks and dirt in its maw. Then three more came up after it, forming a line, and then they retracted back into the ground.

"Oh gods...those are wereworms!" Aelin gasped.

Right then, they heard a shout in the distance followed by the sound of a deep battle horn. Aelin's eyes found the source of the sounds and, to her utter horror, she beheld Azog the Defiler at the top of a far off stone tower with other Orc officers beside him and giant, wooden battle signals behind him.

Nori noticed this the same time as her and exclaimed, "It's Azog! He's here!"

"How did he get up there without us noticing? This is ridiculous!" commented Aelin. Then she looked to the tunnels where the wereworms had been and saw Azog's Orc army emerging from within the tunnels. Dain's army saw them and immediately rushed forward to fight them while the Elves remained in place.

"Oh, no...this is an ambush!" she cried. Then she pushed past Nori, heading back towards her companions and picking up her knives where she had dropped them. "It's Azog and the Orcs! We're under attack!" she called to them.

Fili nodded to her and said to the others, "I'm going over the wall. Who's coming with me?"

As some voiced their agreement, Thorin shot them all down by ordering them, "Stand down."

"Are we to do nothing?" Fili asked back in disbelief.

"I said…stand down!" Thorin growled back as he was already descending down the stairs back into the mountain.

Angry now at Thorin for wanting to retreat, Aelin jumped over the edge of the destroyed rampart and down onto the stairs, jumped down again and then moved around to the bottom of the stairs in front of Thorin, blocking his path.

As she met his stone-like gaze, she stated, "That is your enemy out there and your kin who are about to fight them. You're going to let them die while you cower in your keep?"

"I have nothing to say to you," Thorin replied in a dark voice.

"I don't give a Warg's arse about what you have to say to me," she shot back. "This is a battle that you started and now, Azog's army is here to kill everyone. You want to be a King so badly? Act like one! Protect your kingdom and fight the real enemy on your doorstep!"

"Say one more word and I will start with you," he told her, shoving her aside, walking a couple steps and picking up his sword that had been shot by Bard's arrow.

Before she could stop herself, she retorted, "I dare you."

Infuriated at her boldness, Thorin immediately cried out and swung his sword back towards Aelin. She pulled out one of her knives to deflect...but was surprised to see someone else jump between them and throw their weapon up in front of Thorin's as gasps sounded from everyone else.

It was Ori.

With a look of anger in his eyes that took everyone aback, he stated in his bravest voice, "Leave her alone, Thorin!" Then he shoved his weapon forward, pushing Thorin's sword away.

"Ori…!" Aelin said in astonishment.

Thorin grimaced at Ori and Aelin and then said, pointing at her, "I want her gone before the battle is over."

"She's not going anywhere," then declared Dori, taking a position beside his youngest brother and in front of Aelin.

Aelin was overwhelmed with love and gratitude for both Ori and Dori in that moment. These two essentially were her other brothers and they were defending her from Thorin in his madness. They were no longer blindly following him like they had been before; they were on her side now and they weren't afraid to stand against him in her defense. As she looked around, she saw the others were all holding their readied weapons at their sides, glaring in Thorin's direction.

In response, Thorin said nothing, but simply put his sword in its sheath and walked away down the corridor.

"Are you all right, Aelin?" asked Dori, turning around to face her.

She nodded. "I'm fine. Thank you for coming to my defense, both of you," she said, looking between him and Ori.

"Of course. Thorin has gone too far this time," Ori responded.

"And as long as all of us are here, he will never make you leave this mountain," said Balin. "We won't let him."

"You belong here with us, no matter what he says," then said Bofur.

Gloin then added, "The company wouldn't be complete without you."

Dwalin then came forward, placed a hand on Aelin's shoulder and told her, "I'm going to have a talk with him. I am on your side; it's not right of us to forsake our own people and we need Thorin to lead us into battle. I don't know what good I can do, but I know I'll have to try." With another pat on her shoulder, Dwalin walked down the corridor, following some paces after Thorin.

"I don't know what good any of us can do now…," Aelin sighed aloud.

After that, she felt someone's hand on her shoulder and as she turned, found herself being hugged by Kili, who had already taken off his heavy armor and was just in his chainmail and leather armor.

"Aelin, I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed. "Thorin had no right to react the way he did and say those horrible things to you!"

"Thank you, Kili," Aelin replied as she hugged him back.

When he pulled away, he looked at her with sad, tear-filled eyes. "You're going to leave now, aren't you?" he asked, his voice wavering as he sounded like he already knew the answer to the question.

Aelin's heart twisted painfully at seeing Kili looking at her this way.

Then he emotionally stated to her, "I don't want you to go...but I also can't watch you be endlessly tormented by Thorin. If you feel you can't stay here anymore...then I will understand."

"I don't know what I'm going to do, Kili," she responded, trying to stay strong. "I do not want to leave you...or Fili...or any of you...and I don't want to leave Thorin either, but he is fading fast. I don't know how much longer I can hold out before he's completely gone and there's nothing left of him for me to save." She heaved a melancholic sigh and then said, turning away, "I just need some time."

With that, she walked away from the rest of her companions, her head hanging and her spirits feeling lower than ever.

Aelin wandered through the lower halls of the mountain, not even really paying attention to where she was going. Her thoughts were far from the mountain, yet her body maneuvered itself so she wouldn't run into anything. She just kept going until she felt her legs couldn't go anymore. Suddenly, she found herself in a vast, torchlit hall, but the light was intensified by the fact that the floor was entirely made of solid gold. Upon realizing this, she continued to stare down at the floor, presuming that this had been where the Dwarves had taken their final stand against Smaug. She remembered the story Nori had told her about them trying to stop him with a wave of melted gold.

Gold...gold...that blasted gold...the gold that had bewitched the mind of her King and ruined everything!

All of a sudden, Aelin's inner anger exploded and she released a furious, roaring shriek that echoed off the walls. She fell to her knees and proceeded to start pounding down on the golden floor with her fists.

"This blasted gold! This cursed mountain!" she yelled as she continued to hit the ground, not caring if anyone in Erebor could hear her. Then she raised herself up, looking to the ceiling, and shouted, "All the gods above who hear my voice, I curse you! You doomed all who would rule this mountain and for what?! Whatever did they do to deserve such a cruel fate? Thorin did not deserve this! He, above all others, did not deserve to suffer this cruel joke you bestowed upon him! He is the greatest Dwarf anyone could know! He is a loyal friend, a caring uncle, a noble leader and a great King...he was my King…."

Right then, her anger subsided and was immediately replaced by her building, overwhelming sorrow as she clutched at her mother's pendant around her neck, doubled over and let out the sobs that were choking in her throat.

"What am I supposed to do?" she cried, her voice trembling as her shaking body was wracked with anguish. "I can't go on like this...but I cannot leave the company. They have become my family and I can't leave them again. But I can't…I can't…." She inhaled sharply and wept, "I can't bear this heartbreak anymore!"

She doubled back over and her sobbing resumed, her tears cascading from her eyes and onto the gold floor. Her body was both in pain and numb all at once from the misery she was suffering. For a moment, she swore she saw a shadow in the corner of her eye, but dismissed it completely as her vision was blurry and frankly, she just didn't care about anything in that moment.

"Please...if Mahal...or Durin...or any god can hear me...I beg of you...hear my prayer...and bring Thorin back to me," she pleaded aloud through her crying. "I need him...his nephews need him...his sister needs him...his friends need him...his people will need him. He is not the Dwarf he used to be…he is lost...and it's been proven that I cannot bring him home alone. I have tried everything I can and I am at my wit's end." She let out another loud sob. "None of us know what more we can do. His mind is too far gone...but please...there must still be a way! There has to be even just a small part of Thorin still inside him fighting to get out and take his life back! If there is...if there is a way to get him back to his old self...please, show it to me. Give me a sign; anything! Anything to show me that I can get back the Dwarf I love. Please...I miss him so much." Another sob ripped from her throat. "I can't do this anymore! I promised I would never leave him again...but I don't know how much longer I can keep that promise if he remains this way." She took a deep breath. "We're supposed to be together...I'm supposed to be his Queen...but I cannot be the Queen to a mad King. Please...I need Thorin back. Without him, I am not whole anymore. I am no longer myself; I'm not just Aelin anymore. Thorin is a part of me now. Going on without him...is beyond my imagination. I can't do it. Please...I need him back. I'm begging you...I need him back…."

After that, all Aelin could do was continue to weep bitterly, hunched over on the floor. For all she knew, she was speaking to thin air; to no one. It was more than likely that the gods would never hear her. What was the prayer of a lowlife woman like her even worth to the gods? Surely, her words meant nothing to them and would go unheeded. She had never felt so empty and helpless.

Clang!

Aelin jumped with a cry, startled at the sudden noise in the basically silent hallway. When she came up, she was shocked to see Thorin standing some yards away from her, his side facing her. His crown was no longer on his head; instead, it had been thrown to the ground. He was just standing there, staring at the wall with wide, distant eyes. In a slight moment of panic, Aelin got right to her feet, unsure of what was about to happen. She watched Thorin for a moment, waiting for him to move or speak.

Finally, Thorin's head slowly turned in her direction and his gaze found her. She said nothing; she simply stared back at him.

"Aelin…," he spoke softly.

Her breath caught a little in her throat at hearing him actually speak her name. However, she was still feeling cautious and uncertain about him. "What do you want?" she asked stiffly.

In reply, he gave no answer. Instead, he all of a sudden threw off his fur cape behind him. Then, what astonished Aelin even more, was he began removing his golden armor, beginning with his chestplate. He did this while keeping his eyes on her. She was confused at this peculiar behavior as she watched him. What was he doing?

He pulled off his chestplate and dropped it to the floor. Then he took off his armbraces, followed by the armor on his legs. Before long, he was standing before her in chainmail, his leather armor and leather gloves.

When he finished, he then drew his sword. Instinctively, one of her hands cautiously coming up just under the hilt of one her knives. He held it aloft for a brief moment...and then threw it, too, to the ground. As she watched it fall, she was bewildered at whatever he was doing, yet still suspicious. He slowly walked towards her. Cautiously, she took a step back and brought her hand closer to her knife, ready to draw it.

He stopped...and then gradually got down on his knees.

Shocked even more at this gesture, all she could say was, "Wh-what are you…?"

He then spoke, looking up at her with a pained expression, "I am terribly...truly sorry." Then, to her even greater astonishment, he lowered himself down and bowed before her, placing his head and hands on the floor.

She was dumbfounded at this. Her hand by her knife lowered down to her side as she stared down at the Dwarf King kneeling in front of her. "Thorin…?" she asked aloud in wonder.

Without raising his head, Thorin spoke in a calm yet firm voice, "I kneel and bow before you as a penitent King in the presence of his loyal Queen."

Once again, her breath caught inside of her in utter disbelief. What was going on?

"Elrond was right about me," he went on contritely. "I fell to the madness that runs in my family; the sickness that haunts this mountain. I thought I was strong enough to withstand it, but I was wrong. I am weaker than I thought I was and I fell. Even you believed I was strong enough to fight it...but I failed you and, in my weakness, I turned against those who have loyally followed me, including the woman I truly love. I betrayed you and hurt you in ways I swore I never would."

A small gasp escaped Aelin's lips and her hands came up over her mouth. Was this really happening? This couldn't be!

He continued, "I will not ask your forgiveness. I know I am not worthy of it. All that I wish to ask of you now is to help us fight. Fight with the company and help us end the war that wages beyond the walls of this mountain. Do not fight for me, but for them. We need all the capable fighters we can get and I know the others will join me if you will." Then he raised himself up back onto his knees and looked her in the eye. "And know this, as well: I am truly sorry for everything. I wish I could take back every word I said...I wish I could undo everything I have done...but alas, I cannot. None of the things I said to you were true. Upon reflection, I no longer believe you ever betrayed me in any way. Everything you did, you did for me; to save me. All that I said was a result of my corrupted mind; they were never any secret thoughts I harbored towards you. I still believe you have put your thieving ways behind you and I know you would never steal from me for personal gain. I don't believe you abandoned me or the company."

At hearing everything Thorin was saying, Aelin's eyes were filling with tears, letting a few out to fall down her cheek. She couldn't believe it. Thorin was...seemingly himself again.

"Despite all of that, I also do not expect you to believe me," he then said to her in a doubtful voice, lowering his gaze, "but please, Aelin...help me and the others end this war. Fight with us. After this is all over, whatever the outcome...then you may leave Erebor, if you so desire."

Aelin gasped in surprise.

"You are free to go wherever you wish. I would not blame you if you no longer desired to stay here. I would not even be surprised if Fili and Kili chose to go with you...and I would not stop them...for who would want to stay with an uncle of whom they are ashamed?"

A few more tears fell from her eyes and she silently cried into her hands. It hurt her heart to hear him speak this way, especially of his sister-sons, who loved and admired him greatly.

Then, with his gaze still facing the floor, he spoke with more conviction mixed with sorrow, "I want you to know...that I am overcome with grief, regret and shame over everything I have done more than I can fully express in any tongue of this world. I promised I would never leave you and I would never hurt you...and essentially, I broke both of those promises. I broke your heart and I have broken my own heart, as well." At last, his eyes lifted again and he looked up at Aelin. "I know I have led you to believe that I felt otherwise, but...my strong feelings for you still remain...I love you with every part of my being. I cannot emphasize that enough. However, I do not expect you to love me in return anymore. If I have lost your favor...then I will accept that. It is the punishment I rightfully deserve. Everything that has happened, including the battle outside, is all because of me and I want to make things right, but I cannot do it alone. I need your help. Please...help me finish this...and then I shall never ask anything of you again."

Finally, Aelin's strength failed her and she fell to her knees right in front of him, crying. Out of nowhere, Thorin had come and apologized to her for everything he had done and she was just completely overwhelmed. He sounded so sincere, especially to go as far as to say he would not stop his nephews from leaving or accepting if she no longer loved him. He never would have said such things before if he were still under the sickness.

Perhaps it was real...Thorin was no longer under the influence of the dragon-sickness.

He was finally himself again.

However, she wanted to be absolutely sure before she opened her heart again. She lifted her head and looked him in the eye. "Thorin...what brought this on? What caused this change of heart?" she asked him.

He was looking at her with an expression of immense guilt, but, upon hearing her questions, his look softened. "I heard your prayer…," he told her.

Another quiet gasp sounded from her. He had heard everything she had said?

"...and I saw the tears you shed," he added. "I have always hated seeing you cry or in any pain. Knowing that your tears were caused by me made me realize the monster that I had become and brought forth a great torment in my heart that finally broke me free of the spell I was under."

Thorin sounded sincere, which started to convince Aelin that he was telling the truth. Were he still corrupted, he would not have been able to muster such an explanation. "How do I know you will not fall to the dragon-sickness again?" she asked correspondingly.

"I do not know…," he answered, "but I do know this: for the last few days, I have felt an unyielding pull towards this mountain's treasure; a yearning unlike any I have felt before...and now, I no longer feel it. It is as if a great burden has been lifted from my shoulders. I feel I may have overcome it indefinitely. The only yearning I feel now is to right all of my wrongs...and for you."

Aelin let out a small whimper of anxiousness. Surely, this had to be it! She timidly reached up towards his face. Sensing no ill intent from her, Thorin did not move and let her hands touch his bearded cheeks. She looked intently into his eyes...and there they were: the deep, radiant blue eyes of Thorin Oakenshield that she had come to love so much. They were no longer dead or empty has they had been. She recognized the look she saw in them; one she knew well.

A smile of both realization and relief gradually crept up on her lips. "It's really you…," she gasped. "I see life in your eyes. I see your love...I haven't seen any of that in days...and I've missed it. I've missed you."

That was all the confirmation she needed. Aelin couldn't hold back anymore and she threw her arms around Thorin's neck, crying into his shoulder and clutching him tightly. He didn't expect this sort of reaction from her so quickly, so he was a little startled, at first, But then he accepted it and embraced her back, holding her close to him and stroking her hair.

"I'm sorry, Aelin...I am so sorry…," he whispered into her hair. "I don't think you are a traitor or that you abandoned me or that you chose my nephews over me. I don't think any of that."

"I know…," she said back, "and I want you to know: I am not leaving." Then she pulled back, keeping her hands rested just under his cheeks. "Why would you think I would want to leave this place after all of this is over?" she asked him. "Erebor is my true home and I already left once. I'm not making that mistake again. If I didn't want to be around you, I would have left right after I returned after our first encounter, but I knew I couldn't leave again and, more importantly, I couldn't give up on you." She stroked his beard and mustered a smile through her tears. "I promised I would never leave again and I meant it. I am staying here...with the company...with you...because I love you."

Thorin couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had treated her worse than cruelly and yet there she was, confessing that she still loved him. "How...how can you forgive me after everything I have done?" he questioned her, taken aback.

She replied, sliding her hands down to his chest, "I held onto even just a sliver of hope that somehow you would return to your normal self. Despite all that you did, even if it did hurt me in a way, I still held to that as firmly as I could. As long as you returned to me and felt remorse for what you had done, I knew I could find it in my heart to forgive you."

He let out a sigh of relief and pressed his forehead against hers. One of his hands came up behind her shoulder blade and the other reached up and grasped one of hers against his chest. "I do not deserve you at all, Aelin," he said to her.

"Maybe you don't…," she responded, "...but I believe you do."

Then, with that being said, Aelin tilted her head to the side and pressed her lips strongly against Thorin's, kissing him with intense longing and grasping at the collar of his shirt. Thorin flinched in slight surprise, but welcomed her advance with equal eagerness as he firmly kissed her in return, moving the hand on her back up to cup the back of her head and the other hand around her waist, pulling her as close to him as he could. Their lips moved together in a harmonious fashion that they hadn't done in what felt like an eternity and that brought such sweet and much needed relief.

After a moment, they pulled apart and Aelin looked right into Thorin's eyes, a grin on her face. "Come on, then...we've got a war to win," she stated.

Before Thorin could say anything, she got up to her feet, walked a couple steps to his sword lying on the ground and picked it up. She turned around, went back to Thorin and, balancing the flat side of the blade on one hand and the hilt in the other, she leaned forward and presented it to him.

"Thorin, son of Thrain, King Under the Mountain...will you be the leader your company needs at this time? Will you be the true King your kin require to rally them to battle?" she asked him. "Will you protect your kingdom and vanquish the enemy that threatens it and its people? Will you end the war that lies beyond...and bring peace to this realm?"

In that moment, Thorin felt nothing but pride as he gazed up at her. Not pride in himself, but pride in Aelin. She had grown and changed so much since coming to Erebor. There was even more confidence in her demeanor and a new sense of righteousness. She appeared dignified and poised with an aura of great strength and might.

To him, she was the truest epitome of a Dwarf Queen.

In response to her challenge, he raised himself to his feet, grasped the sword by the handle and answered, "Aye...I will." As he took the sword from her, he then asked her in turn, "Will you follow me...one last time?"

With a proud smile on her face, Aelin immediately withdrew her blades and brought them into an X formation in front of her chest; the same way she had back when she had first pledged her service to him in Bag-End. Then she repeated the very words she had promised him then: "My knives and my service are yours."

Thorin grinned, remembering the very moment she had duplicated before him. "Come, let us find the others," he said.

As they walked out of the hall side by side, Aelin then asked him curiously, "By the way, when all of this is over...will you introduce me to your cousin, Dain?"

A bit puzzled by her question, he gave a timid answer, "I...suppose I can."

She chuckled and simply replied, "Excellent. Now, let's go kill ourselves a pale Orc."

.

*loud cheering!*

Yaaaayyy!

Seriously, I have been DYING to get to this part because I absolutely HATE writing mad Thorin! Really, I just hate writing drama between Thorin and Aelin, even though that was pretty much 3/4 of this story :P I'm a hopeless romantic; I like fluff and cute, lovey-dovey moments xD haha!

I really hope that was satisfying to all of you. Personally, I like how it went. But now...it's time to charge into the Battle of the Five Armies!

How is the whole battle going to play out? Will Thorin, Fili and Kili still die in the battle or will things go differently? (Although really, why would I be writing this fanfiction if they still died? ;) haha!) What will Aelin contribute to the fight? All of these questions will be answered over the course of the next couple chapters! xD

Review or PM me! Love you all!