Happy Holidays! Thanks to McKenna079 for your review on the last chapter. I hope you guys enjoy this one, let me know what you think!


"ONE MORE!"

The dwarves heaved the giant pillar backwards once more, following Thorin's orders.

The dwarf-king had returned to them only a few moments ago, after several hours in which no one had seen him or even known where he was. Dwalin had come back earlier with news of how their conversation had gone, though he had left out the details, and only said how he had not been able to convince Thorin to change his mind. The news had settled over them heavily. They had sat together in the entrance hall for a long time, not knowing what to do. Fili had tried once more to convince the others to go over the wall with him, but although none of them wanted to stay in the mountain, they did not dare go directly against Thorin's orders even now.

And then, out of nowhere, Thorin had come back. And the change in him had been almost palpable. The heavy crown that he had been wearing on his head all the time since they had reclaimed the mountain had suddenly disappeared, he had discarded his heavy, kingly robes and was standing before them in the very clothes that he had travelled to the mountain with. His dark blue eyes were clear and alert, the dark circles that had formed beneath them lessened.

Then he had addressed them all, in the way he used to do before he had crowned himself king, like friends and family, rather than subjects he needed to be suspicious of. Fili had barely been able to believe his eyes or ears when his uncle had come to stand before him and had uttered a sincere apology. Thorin had told him that he had been right, that Durin's folk did not run from a fight. And that he did not intend to leave his own kin to wage this war on their own. And then he had asked his old companions to follow him, one last time.

And so now they were here, following Thorin's order, all of them together lifting up one of the mighty broken pillars of the entrance hall, using it to break through the gate that he had previously had them seal shut.

"ONE MORE!" Thorin yelled again, and they did as they were told, running at the gate once more, and feeling it give out at last.

They broke through to the other side among great noise as boulders toppled down before them, and were blinded by the sudden white light of the sun. Fili blinked against the light, dropping the giant pillar together with the others. It fell to the ground with a loud, final noise, though it barely registered in the young prince's mind. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the sunlight, he beheld the large numbers of people gathered before the gate, armies of Men, Elves and Dwarves standing together at the bottom of the mountain.

He blinked again against the pale light of the sun, almost to make sure that he was not imagining things. He let his eyes roam across the front line, before his heart suddenly stopped for a moment as he saw someone making their way through the crowd.

"FILI!"

The dwarf rushed forward as soon as he heard the druid's voice call out toward him, seeing her push past Bard and a dwarf whom he recognised as Dain. A beautifully bright smile broke across her face as she met his gaze across the space between them, immediately setting off toward him. Fili closed the distance from the other side, catching the running druid in his arms as soon as she was within reach, capturing her in a tight hug. He felt her arms wrap around his neck and he buried his face in her hair, breathing in her familiar scent as he tightened his hold on her even more, unwilling to let go of her for even a moment. He had been foolish to let her go in the first place, to not have followed her. He did not care that everyone around them was staring, Men, Elves and Dwarves alike. All that counted was that she was back with him and that she was alright.

"I was beginning to lose hope," Arinna finally muttered into his ear, her head against his shoulder. Fili let out a deep breath, squeezing her tightly once more before he slowly let go of her, his hands coming to rest on her upper arms as he looked at her. It was only now that he managed to take in her whole attire, noticing the light armour she wore, Elven no doubt. He also noticed the Elven sword and bow she was carrying now, the sight making him feel a certain kind of unease, knowing that she would have to use them soon enough. He shook his head slightly.

"Did you think I would let you go to war on your own, my love?" Fili asked her quietly, his voice slightly hoarse, as he brought his hands up to brush them softly over her cheeks. She smiled lightly as he stroked his thumbs along her cheekbones, before he leaned in and pressed a long, passionate kiss to her lips, which she returned just as eagerly. The smile on her face had grown slightly shakier as they pulled apart, a thin veil of relieved tears covering her emerald eyes as she reached out to put one hand over his chest, her hand brushing over his own armour.

"I am glad that we are going to face this evil together," she whispered, feeling her stomach tighten uncomfortably as he let out a small sigh, his thumb gently brushing against the skin of her cheek once more. "I cannot tell you how much I've missed you, Fili."

She inclined her head as Fili pulled her face toward him, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head. Arinna let herself be held like this for a moment, drawing strength from the prince's embrace, before her gaze wandered over his shoulder. Behind Fili, she saw the rest of her companions gathered, her friends all clad in armour and carrying heavy weapons. They were prepared for war, the druid could see as much, and the knowledge made her stomach drop further.

"It is good to see you, lass," Balin greeted her kindly as he walked up to the two of them, giving her shoulder a friendly squeeze just as Fili let go of her.

"And you, Balin," Arinna returned, which the old dwarf acknowledged with a smile, before he walked over to greet Dain, who had now dismounted his war hog. Her gaze then drifted over Fili's shoulder again to the rest of her friends. "All of you."

As the dwarves returned her greeting with relieved smiles on their faces, a small yelp suddenly escaped the druid when she felt herself being scooped up right out of Fili's arms in one swift move. Her feet dangling slightly in the air, she found herself wrapped in a tight hug, as her breath was squeezed out of her.

"Oh, how glad I am to see you, namadîth!" Kili laughed loudly into her ear, rendering her unable to help her own chuckle as she returned his hug happily. He squeezed her one last time, before he put her down slowly, a broad grin on his youthful face as he looked at her. "I've missed you! That mountain's been awfully quiet without you."

"I'm sure you've kept everyone well entertained, Kili," the druid smiled, feeling her heart fill with affection for her friend. "I've missed you, too. Though I must ask you, what does namadîth mean?"

Kili's grin widened at her butchered pronunciation of the word, and Arinna's eyebrows rose with curiosity as he gave her a small wink in return to her question.

"It means 'little sister'. Which, I believe, is entirely appropriate at this point," Kili explained proudly, causing a surprised smile to appear on his friend's face. Though it was only moments before he saw it falter, when she suddenly met Thorin's icy blue gaze over his shoulder.

The dwarf-king had been standing at the back of his company, when Fili and the druid had reunited and was only now slowly making his way toward them. Arinna could not decipher the look on his face, though she knew that it must have been him who gave the order to take down the barricade. She shot Fili an uncertain look as he stepped up to her side again just in time to see Thorin come to a halt in front of them.

The dwarf-king watched as Fili put one arm protectively around the druid's middle, feeling a slight sting in his heart at the defensive look his nephew gave him. He suppressed a small sigh as he let his gaze wander over Arinna's new Elvish armour and her Elvish weapons, before his gaze once more found the intricate braid behind her left ear.

"I was very unfair to you," he finally spoke, remorse filling his voice as he looked into her eyes. She was watching him attentively, a small frown creasing her forehead as she listened. He inclined his head slightly, as he gathered his thoughts. "When we started out on this journey, I asked of my men but three things. Loyalty, honour and a willing heart. You gave all three, time and again. And yet, the things I said to you… I can never make amends for them. All I can say is that I am truly sorry. I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I could not see the truth."

He held her gaze for a long moment, before she finally spoke. "What is the truth?" she asked quietly, her eyes searching Thorin's face as he gave her a tentative smile, looking over to Fili and back to her.

"The truth is that I could not have asked for a more loyal companion than you," he answered. "You were brave enough to follow your heart, to do the right thing, when I was too blind to see that you only meant well. The truth is, Arinna of Evendim, that my nephew could not have made a better choice, or found a more befitting match. You may not be a dwarf, but you are one of us."

Arinna couldn't help the small lump building in her throat as she took in Thorin's words, feeling them lighten the weight on her heart. This was him, the Thorin she remembered, the one she had come to trust and respect as a leader and a king over the course of this journey. She inclined her head, not wanting him to see the tears that had gathered in her eyes, but Thorin reached out, carefully grasping hold of her chin so that she would look at him for his next words.

"You have my blessing," he muttered with unusual kindness, giving her a nod before he looked at Fili, who was staring at him in surprise but obvious joy. He let go of Arinna's face and brought his hand to his nephew's cheek instead, giving Fili an apologetic smile. "I am sorry it took me so long to give it to you."

Fili just shook his head, unable to form any words, before he rushed forward and gave his uncle a firm hug, which Thorin returned with a relieved smile.

"You have joined us after all, cousin!"

Thorin pulled back from Fili's embrace at the sound of Dain's voice carrying over toward them, and they swiftly knocked their heads together in greeting. Thorin nodded his head at his cousin's words.

"Aye," he said. "We could not let you claim victory over our enemies all on your own, could we, cousin?"

Dain grinned, nodding his head. Then he put his hand firmly on Thorin's shoulder. "Will you lead us, Thorin?" he asked proudly. "It would be an honour for us to follow the King under the Mountain into battle."

Thorin hesitated for a moment, taken aback slightly by his cousin's unexpected request and the sound of his title, which had been a heavy burden on his mind for the past weeks.

"Would you follow Thorin Oakenshield instead?" he asked seriously, and though Dain did not quite know what he meant by it, he still gave a firm nod, which emanated several loud cheers from the dwarves of the Iron Hills, as well as the company.

"As touching as these little reunions are," someone suddenly spoke, and Thorin bristled slightly at the familiar sound of King Thranduil's voice. "We do not have much time. Sundown is fast approaching. I will bring my soldiers into position; I suggest the King under the Mountain do the same."

While Thorin just gave a nod, Thranduil moved his steed along, commandeering his army to the Southern spurs of the mountain. The dwarf-king watched him go for a few moments, before he walked with Dain to the front of the Dwarven ranks. The company followed him slowly.

"Arinna!"

The druid turned around from where she was walking along beside Fili, finding Bofur jogging slightly to catch up to her.

"Where's Bilbo?" the hatted dwarf asked and Arinna smiled, pointing toward the ranks before them, where she had stood with him only a little while ago, before she had reunited with Fili.

"Oh, he's right…" A frown suddenly appeared on her face and she dropped her hand, looking around but not finding the hobbit anywhere among the men. He had been beside her at the front of the ranks when she had run to Fili, though he was nowhere to be seen now. She scanned the ranks for him once more, her confusion growing, but it was as though he had simply vanished. He could not have simply vanished into thin air, the druid thought, her frown deepening as she turned back toward Bofur, her smile now gone. "He was right there."

And in truth, Bilbo was still standing in the very same spot as before, though nobody could see him now. A sudden fear had gripped him when he had seen Thorin walking out of the mountain, and without thinking he had taken the gold ring he had found in the Goblin tunnels and slipped it onto his finger. And now he stood, invisible, and watched as Arinna looked around for him, confusion and worry written across her face when she couldn't find him.