Thorin Oakenshield sat upon his throne. And above his head sat the Arkenstone, returned to the place it belonged. Thorin, cured of dragon sickness, physically drained but mentally recharged from the battle had undoubtedly reached a high point in his life. He had reclaimed Erebor, his homeland, been reunited with his cousin, and begun to rebuild the lives of him and his people. They arrived daily now, joyously running through the halls, to pay respect and to see for themselves their King. Whilst Thorin was thrilled at each of their arrivals, he was troubled by the fact that his sister had not yet arrived. He had been sure that Dis would be among the first to come, but it had been over a month and still she did not show.

When Dis reached Erebor, she would discover that her youngest son had (disgracefully in Thorin's opinion) married a Woodland Elf. It wasn't that Thorin disliked Tauriel in particular, he secretly found her to be quite charming. However, the idea that his nephew, an heir to the throne of Erebor, was married to the likes of King Thranduil, the deceitful and selfish leader of the Woodland Elves. Thorin was a proud and stubborn dwarf, and didn't want to be proved wrong. He had decided to let Kili and Tauriel be wed for two reasons; the first one being that he saw Kili was genuinely happy with her, and the second had to do with his dragon sickness. Under its influence, he had become a ruthless dictator who wanted gold and would stop at nothing to retain it. He allowed no one to make their own decisions, and he now wanted people under his rule to feel safe and free. This didn't, however, stop him from introducing Kili to the finest female dwarves he could find. Thorin sighed. If only Kili had liked one of those girls. Then he wouldn't have to tell Dis that her son married-

"Thorin." The king's head snapped up to find none other than Kili staring at him with a slightly concerned face. It swiftly changed to nervousness as Thorin looked at him. "There's something I need to tell you. It has to do with Tauriel." Thorin sighed. "I'm listening."

Grinning uneasily, Kili fiddled with the collar of his coat. "Tauriel and I… well, you know." Thorin raised an eyebrow and Kili laughed raspily. "We are… expecting."