Hi everyone. I am so, so sorry at the inexcusably long wait for this chapter. I am appalled at myself for it and feel so bad, I really do. Unfortunately, university deadlines and health issues got in the way more than I would have liked them to. Thank you so, so much for everyone's lovely response to the last chapter, it really helped with everything so much more than I can ever say, so thank you. In particular, thank you to Hermione Granger (I'm sorry it's taken this long, but thank you so much) and I Just Won A Free Toaster Oven who I can't reply to in person. As a side note, if I didn't reply to your review or replied twice by mistake, I'm sorry, it's four am but I want to get this up before any more time passes.

This chapter is named after a Within Temptation song called 'The Howling' :)

I hope you enjoy this chapter, please forgive any typos – I am exhausted.

So, thank you for waiting!

Read. Enjoy. Review.

Chapter Seventy Seven # The Howling #

Shrugging off his heavy outer robes, Thorin closed the door to his chambers with more force than was necessary. It was but three hours before dawn, and there was no sign of Ari throughout the mountain. He had questioned the healers himself, and though they had seemed genuinely distraught at losing their young charge they had no idea where he could be. After a night of coordinating searches and even looking around a little himself, Thorin had finally accompanied Aria back to her chambers before retiring for the night himself. While Jari, Auden and Austen were all still searching, their younger sister was exhausted – emotionally and physically, so Thorin had ensured that she returned home before posting a guard outside her house.

He flung his clothes into the cupboard, stripping down to his trousers and strode outside, onto his personal balcony. There was something about the frigid air that invigorated him. Thorin loved the scent of it, and the taste that lingered on his tongue, just out of the reach of identification. He loved the way it shocked the mind into action, the way it kept him on his toes. Closing his eyes, Thorin embraced the cold wind whipping into his bare chest. He could feel the breeze lifting locks of his hair and flinging them behind him and the hairs on his arms stood to attention, and he took a deep breath.

The cold always made him think of Kíli. For two decades it had been a curse – in the heart of every winter for twenty one years he had mourned a day that should have been a celebration, a birthday, and instead marked the most horrific loss he was yet to experience. It need not be winter in all circumstances. Often a chilly breeze on a summer's day would bring back a memory of his nephew.

However, now things had changed. When the cold struck him with memories of his nephew he was reminded each and every time that Kíli was alive. He remembered that a heart still beat inside his nephew's chest, strong and true and greater than Thorin's ever could be. He remembered Kíli's smile, his laugh. And he remembered that Kíli would not be returning with his brother. However often he tried to convince himself that there was a chance of Kíli's return, he would shoot down the hope immediately. It was better to believe in the worst and be surprised by the best than it was to hope for the best and receive only the worst.

As he stood on the balcony, slowly breathing in the sharp, clear air, Thorin wondered why it was that the cold reminded him so fiercely of Kíli. While the lad's birthday did fall in the middle of winter, it was much easier to associate Kíli with the warmth – and Fíli too, for that matter. There was a fire that blazed inside his sister sons, a fire Thorin that took great pride in, and every day he prayed that he would never see it extinguished.

When his mind flickered over to Fíli, Thorin sighed deeply. Balin thought that the king could not see the enormous burden that he placed daily on his heir, but the truth could not be any more different. Thorin saw exactly what he did to Fíli. He did not want to push his sister-son as much as he did, but there was no choice in it for him. In such treacherous times, Fíli had to be prepared to ascend to the throne at any time. So far, Fíli had risen above and beyond his title, and Thorin would be loath to ever ask any more of him. The devotion Fíli poured into his duties was unequalled, even with his brother by his side, and the people loved him back.

The last thing that Fíli deserved was to have his brother ripped from his side again, but that was what Thorin was inadvertently bringing about.

"You should not wallow in guilt like that, Uncle. It doesn't become you."

Thorin opened his eyes as Fíli's voice rang through his mind. No. Now was not the time to wallow in self-pity. Now was the time to rest and sleep, so that he may have a little energy come the morrow to deal with traitors and missing children.

Striding back inside, Thorin locked the door to the balcony behind him for good measure and picked up a candelabrum from a nearby stand. Lighting the three candles quickly, Thorin walked into his bedroom, yawning.

He strode across the room, watching the moving candlelight chase the shadows across the floor. Then Thorin paused. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up.

He was not alone.

Stiffening, Thorin restarted his walk across the room. His controlled footsteps seemed to pound against the floor as he placed the candelabrum down on the bedside table and slowly opened the drawer. Taking a deep, steady breath, Thorin wrapped his fingers around the hilt of the bronze knife in the draw.

Moving slowly, Thorin looked over his shoulder and began to turn slowly, scanning the room for any concealed intruder. There was no sign of feet beneath the curtains, no signs of movement in the cupboard, no out of place shadows. His heartbeat quickened as he carefully cleared the room, and then all the others in his chambers. Several minutes later, a now clothed Thorin stood outside his own door with a heavy frown.

"Your majesty?" Kyrri, one of Thorin's most trusted guards, asked with a frown. "Is something wrong?"

"Has there been anyone up here today?"

Kyrri shook his head. "No one but myself and Fenrir, my lord. Is there something amiss in your chambers?"

Thorin considered voicing his suspicions but thought the better of it. "I do not think so – but keep alert tonight. There is a child missing in this mountain and I want to be informed of any developments."

"Of course, your majesty." Kyrri nodded.

Thorin returned to his room, running a hand through his hair. His fingers caught in the horrific tangles and he winced. It had been a long time since he had properly combed his hair – his mother would have been appalled. Still on his guard, Thorin returned to his bedroom and flopped down on his bed. A soft gasp had him sitting straight up again, and his hand flew back to the hilt of his knife.

Of all the places he had checked, he had not thought to look under the bed. The distance between the bed and the floor was barely a foot – not nearly enough space for any normal sized dwarf to hide beneath. Now that he was listening, he could hear his unwanted companion's clumsily hidden, hitched breaths.

Readying himself, Thorin spoke in his deadliest voice. "You have made a grave mistake in coming here. I know you are here – I can hear you breathing. I can hear your fear. I warn you now, I am tired and I am short of temper. If you surrender now, your life may be spared. If you remain hidden I swear to Mahal himself that it won't be!"

There was silence for a moment, followed by what sounded almost like a sob. Then Thorin could hear someone shuffling across the floor beneath the bed and he stood on the edge of his mattress, looming down over the floor.

The shadows beneath the bed shifted and Thorin raised his knife.

Two tiny, bloodied hands appeared first, in a sign of surrender that sent shivers down the king's spine. Then, blonde hair appeared, and then a terrified, familiar face.

Thorin's eyes widened in shock. "Ari?"

"Please," the little boy choked, cringing into the floor. "I'm sorry, please don't kill me Mister Thorin, please! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Realising that his knife was still held up in position to strike, Thorin lowered it immediately and stepped to the floor, crouching by his bed. "Hush now, khuzdith. Are you the only one here?"

Ari nodded, tears spilling from his emerald green eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Hush, hush," Thorin repeated in the most soothing tone he could conjure. "It's alright. I'm sorry for frightening you, little one. I expected someone quite different. Come out now…"

Swallowing, Ari stared at Thorin. His whole body was trembling, and the terror in his eyes was so strong that it was infectious.

"It's alright, Ari, you are safe now." Thorin promised, holding out his hand slowly.

His late friends' youngest son knew him, hence his somewhat humbled title of 'Mister' Thorin, and ever so slowly the boy reached for Thorin's hand. The very second they made contact, Ari's fingers clenched around Thorin's with startling strength. With great care, the king carefully slid the boy out from underneath his bed, trying not to aggravate his healing wounds.

"Are you hurt, khuzdith?" Thorin questioned as he looked the child up and down. "Where has all this blood come from?"

"Me," Ari whimpered, tugging at his pyjama shirt. "And a b-bit from the o-oth-other dwarf…"

"What other dwarf?" Thorin lifted up the think material of the boy's shirt carefully, mentally wincing at the angry red wound on his midsection. It was taking a while to heal, but it did not seem to be open enough to cause all this blood. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"I d-don't know who he w-was," Ari stammered, "M-my knees, a-and my hands."

"Did you fall over?" Thorin guessed, rolling up the legs of one of the boy's trousers. The child had taken all of the skin off of his knee, but though it looked painful and bloody, it did not look too dangerous.

"Yes, sir…"

"It's alright," Thorin lifted the child onto his bed. "You're safe now. Your brothers and sister have been worried sick about you. Let's get you back to the healing halls and-"

"No!" Ari yelped, flinching away at the startled look on Thorin's face. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don't make me go back, please, please!"

"Why do you not want to go back?" Thorin frowned. "What happened, Ari?"

"They are there!" Ari insisted, wrapping his arms around himself with a sob. "The ones… the ones who k-killed… the ones who killed the dwarf with a golden teeth!"

Thorin shook his head, trying to make some sense of the child's words. "Ari, breathe. Breathe. Why did you leave in the first place? Did somebody take you? Did somebody bring you here?"

"Y-yes and no," Ari swallowed, taking some gulping, deep breaths. "They t-took me out of bed, but I t-took myself here."

"Who took you, Ari?" Thorin asked softly.

"I d-don't know who they w-were. They said my sister had s-sent for me, and they had her r-rabbit."

"Her rabbit?" Thorin frowned, and Ari placed a small rabbit toy in his hands. Recognising it from somewhere, Thorin turned the floppy toy over in his hands.

"Her rabbit," Ari sobbed. "So, I th-thought that they would t-take me to her, but they d-didn't. They took me to a r-room with l-lots of swords and t-told me to w-wait for her. They gave me s-some sweets and I kn-knew that there was something wrong. They s-said Aria was coming, but she wasn't!"

"I see…" Thorin stood up, cursing internally when Ari flinched at the sudden movement. He strode over to the cupboard and grabbed a blanket from the top shelf, draping it carefully around the boy's shoulders. "Can you tell me what happened next?"

Ari took a deep breath, snuggling into the blanket, and nodded.

"Just before you do, I am going to tell the guard to send for your brother, alright?"

The boy nodded once more, shuffling after Thorin as the king walked to the door.

"Kyrri."

The guard looked to the king, his eyes widening almost comically at the sight of the boy. "Your majesty!"

"Send someone to Jari and have him brought here immediately. Tell him his brother has been found."

"How…?" Kyrri stared at the boy incredulously for a moment before bowing deeply and jogging off to do his duty.

Thorin led the child back into his chambers, this time to the sofa. When Ari looked a little more comfortable, the king restarted his questioning.

"So, what happened next?"

"They started talking," Ari's stammer was fading now, the knowledge of his brother's imminent arrival being enough to calm him down. "I didn't understand lots of it, but they were talking about bad things. Hurting people. One of them said they had to do it. He said that if they didn't do it then they'd have to be 'under the rule of Oakenshield forever'. I don't know what 'it' is and I don't know why they don't like you, Mister Thorin, but I knew it was bad."

Thorin nodded slowly.

Ari continued, shuddering as his eyes grew more afraid. "Then… then the dwarf with the golden teeth walked in. He wasn't happy to see me. He said they'd crossed a line and one of them said…said that… his 'services were no longer required'. Then they… they…"

Thorin sat forward as the boy's eyes glazed over with the horror of the memory. "Ari, what did they do?"

"They took his arms," Ari murmured, as if speaking through a dream – or a nightmare. "And his legs… they just pulled, and pulled, and… he was screaming. I was screaming too, and then the blood went everywhere… So I ran…"

"You just ran?"

Ari nodded, staring into space. "I ran as fast as I could. I ran like a hobbit and I got myself lost so I kept running. They chased me and I fell but I didn't know what else to do so I just ran and it hurt so bad and I was so scared, and then I saw the nice stairs – Aria told me that you lived up the nice stairs. I thought that maybe you could help me."

"I will help you," Thorin promised gently. "How did you get past the guards?"

"Like a hobbit," the boy replied. "I slipped past when they were swapping around."

That was the second time Ari had referenced hobbits. Strange child. "I see."

There was a lingering moment of awkward silence.

"The dwarves that took you, do you remember what they look like?"

Ari nodded, biting his lip.

"If I brought Master Ori to you, would you be able to describe them so that he could draw them for me?"

Hesitantly, Ari nodded his head again.

"Wonderful. We shall do it tomorrow, as soon as you've had a good night's sleep."

There was a loud knock on the door and Thorin stood up. "Enter."

Jari practically fell into the room, his eyes widening at his brother's pale yet suddenly smiling face. "Ari!"

"Jari!" the little boy squeaked, flinging himself off of the couch and into his brother's arms.

"What on earth do you think you were doing, you foolish, foolish boy? What happened?"

"Go easy on him, Jari." Thorin said softly. "He has had quite the ordeal through no doing of his own, but he has been very brave about the entire horrid business."

Ari tucked his face into his brother's neck as Jari frowned, going pale himself. "What happened?"

"I will explain everything, but I think he needs a warm bed with his family around him for now." Thorin promised. "Kyrri, arrange a guard for the family for tonight and give the order for the guards around the city to double."

"I will, your majesty, right away."

Thorin watched the guard's retreating back. He would have to have words with Kyrri regarding his unexpected visitor.

Dwalin was going to be furious.


Pulling her hood further over her face, Dís shifted slightly in the saddle to try and shield the shivering child sat in front of her from the rain a little. For the last few days it had been pouring; Fíli had commented how the weather had been similar the last time they had travelled through the area. They all had adequate clothing for the weather, but that did not mean that the younger members of the company were not suffering for it.

"How do you feel, little one?" she murmured.

"Cold and wet and hungry." Pervinca sniffled.

"As are we all, nuthanuth." Dís replied mildly.

For the first time that day, Pervinca perked up ever so slightly. "What does that mean?"

Dís paused for a brief moment. Thorin would absolutely object to anyone other than a dwarf learning Khuzdul. However, Khuzdul endearments and curses had been thrown rather freely among Kíli's family since before she had even arrived, and since the hobbits in question would be living in the mountain, the princess had no problem with helping Pervinca understand a little of what was being thrown over her head.

"It means 'tiny girl'."

Pervinca wrinkled up her nose up. "I'm not tiny!"

Dís laughed. "Those words left my mouth many times when I was a child, but 'nuthanuth' is an endearment."

"What's an endearment?"

"It's a word or a phrase that is meant to express affection or love." Dís explained. "Like 'sweetheart' or 'darling'."

"Oh… I get it." Pervinca paused. "I'm still cold, though."

Dís nodded, pulling the child a little closer. "Aye, nuthanuth, as am I."

The girl settled after that, content to daydream in her own little world. Dís' eyes travelled around the group, and she was unsurprised to note that most of her companions looked more than a little disgruntled. Little Pippin was practically inside Fíli's coat by now, but though the child was barely visible he was also rather quiet, which was a blessing. Earlier that morning there had been a rather long whining session from the toddler, which had been stubbornly ignored until it blew over.

The only one who seemed unaffected by the horrendous weather was Samwise Gamgee. Dís had been disappointed, more than anything, by the boy's appearance on the journey, but Bilbo had already spoken to her about his conversations with Hamfast. As a mother who had been separated from her son for decades, Dís could not fathom how Hamfast had the strength to grant Sam the right to his church, but she also knew that it was not really her place to question another family's dynamics.

Besides, Sam was hardly a difficult addition. The child was meek, well-behaved and polite to a level that was rarely seen in children so young. He had a spark or mischief and personality, but he seemed to know that the road was not the best place of it, and Dís had not heard a single utterance of complaint come from the lad. Even now, he sat quietly on the front of Bofur's pony, wrapped up in Frodo's spare cloak.

"Dís," Bilbo appeared by her side, his tone weary. "Where are your sons?"

Dís closed her eyes for a moment. "If they've wandered off somewhere, they are your sons."

Frodo giggled slightly as Bilbo sighed.

"Well, it appears that they are my sons, in that case."

"For the love of…" Dís sighed, looking around again. "Not five minutes ago I checked to see if everyone was-"

"Wait! We have to turn around!"

Dís twisted around in the saddle to look around at Fíli and Kíli, who were now a good fifty yards behind the rest of the group. Merry and Pippin were now practically bouncing in the saddles, wide smiles on their faces for the first time that day.

Bilbo rolled his eyes. "What makes you think we would turn around now, Kíli Baggins?"

Kíli's brown eyes widened in earnest. "We've missed the trolls!"

"The trolls? You've got to be joking, Kíli."

"No, Bilbo, we just went and checked! They're not two hundred yards off of our road, and they're still there, still stone!" Kíli promised, nodding his head as eagerly as the now animated children.

"I think we could all do with a tiny detour…" Fíli suggested.

"I wanna see the trolls!" Nelly cried, and Nori pretended to be deafened.

"Please can we?" Pervinca begged Dís.

Dís and Bilbo exchanged glances.

"Oh, please!" Saradoc called out.

Bilbo fixed the (apparently) adult hobbit in his gaze. "Whose side are you on, Saradoc?"

The Brandybuck deliberated for a moment. "Whoever's winning."

"A short detour may do us good, but we will not linger long." Dís made certain that her suggestion sounded as firm as it should.

True to the word of her sons, the trolls were not all too far off their path.

"These are the trolls you sung the Green Dragon song to, no?" Esme smiled, pushing her hood a little way off of her head to see them better.

"They are indeed." Bofur crooned.

"Though I don't know what sort of dwarf thinks it's a good idea to sing his way out of trouble." Nori commented, banging his knife against one of the trolls.

"Kíli's not a dwarf, though." Pervinca sighed. "He's a dwobbit, so that's why."

"Oh, come on!"

"I think that's fairly ac- wait, no Nelly, sit down, that's my – ow!"

Dís glanced over at Nori, smiling wryly when she saw Nelly standing on his thighs in an attempt to clamber up onto the giant.

"Nelly!" Paladin warned as Nori laughed. "Get down."

Nelly sprung up, grabbing a hold of the trolls' arm. "Oops."

"Pimpernel Took, you get down right now!" Ellie said sharply.

"Oh dear," Nelly sang, the innocence in her tone as fake as the wooden sword that hung from her own little bag. "I seem to be a bit stuck and I can't get down."

Snorting, Nori swiped the girl out of the air and back onto the pony. "Well, would you look at that? Not stuck at all."

"This is amazing!"

Dís smiled as she looked to Frodo. The boy was pressing his palm against the stone, staring up at it with eyes ablaze with wonder.

"I must admit, this is something I have never seen before." She breathed.

Pervinca glanced around. "Really?"

"Truly." Dís nodded.

"Is that rain lightening a little?" Bofur called optimistically. "Perhaps we should stop and take some lunch?"

Dís was unconvinced that the rain was any lighter than it had been, but she nodded her agreement regardless. She turned around and reached for the food stowed away in her bag. Her pony whinnied unhappily, stomping back and forth.

"Pervinca, sweetheart, stop fidgeting." Dís murmured without turning around. "Bramble doesn't like it."

"Sorry…"

Dís turned back around to a face full of hobbit lass. She jumped, still not entirely used to the all but silent movements of hobbits "Hello, sweetheart."

"Dís, I need a wee."

"Alright, alright…" Dís glanced over to the next pony at Ellie, who seemed more than a little busy with Pearl. "I'll take you."

Ellie glanced up and smiled gratefully at Dís as the dwarven princess dismounted. Dís lifted the little girl down from the pony and began to lead her through the thick trees in search of a concealed place to allow her to do her business.

"Here you go," Dís smiled, adjusting her coat tighter around herself.

"I can't go here!" Pervinca squeaked. "It's too close, they might hear me!"

"Hear you?" Dís frowned. "What on earth are you talking about?"

Pervinca blushed furiously. "Merry said yesterday that he could hear me when I went to do my business. I don't want people to hear me, it's not very nice!"

Dís sighed heavily. "Alright, sweetheart."

They trudged a little further through the rain and undergrowth. After a few short minutes, Dís pointed to a large tree.

"Will that do?"

Pervinca nodded and scrambled over the large roots to relieve herself. As Dís turned her back to give the child a little bit of privacy, her eyes flickered up the bark of a tall tree all the way to the top. A large nest of twigs was perched at the top between the forked branches. There would be chicks in there, hatchlings or nestlings. There was no birdsong, though – there had not been birdsong since it began to rain. Still, the forest seemed quieter in that moment.

Too quiet. Too still.

Dís took a sharp intake of breath and paused. She had promised herself – sworn to herself that she would not allow peace to lull her into a false sense of security again, not after what had happened in the Shire, but it appeared as though that was what she had done again.

No – she was just overreacting. Rain often chased woodland animals into their hideaways – it was normal for there to be a little lull in the quiet choir of the forest when the rain was falling. She took a deep breath.

"Pervinca, sweetheart, are you ready to go back?" she asked, trying to keep the edge from her tone.

"Uh huh." The little girl sang sweetly.

"Then let's go. Now."

"Is something wrong?"

Dís turned around, a spasm of guilt fluttering through her heart at Pervinca's worried tone. "I don't think so but let's get back to the others just in case."

"Alright," Pervinca smiled, the worry all but gone from her eyes as she finished tying her trousers.

Dís turned around, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. Narrowing her eyes, she scanned their surroundings intently, praying over and over that she would see no threat.

Not for the first time in her life, her prayers were not answered.

"Pervinca, be very, very still."

"Why-"

"Shh, sweetheart." Dís held her hand out in front of the girl, her eyes fixed on the hulking figure in the woods. "Everything's going to be absolutely fine. Just do exactly what I tell you, alright?"

A frightened little whimper let her know that Pervinca had seen the threat. "Dís…"

"It's just a little old bear, Pervinca. It won't hurt you." Dís forced her voice to be calm as the beast prowled out from between the trees, though it looked neither little nor old. "I won't let it hurt you, alright?"

A small sob was the only reply as Pervinca seized Dís' coat and hid behind the woman's legs.

"Now, just keep calm, everything is going to be alright." Dís focused her eyes on the advancing beast. It had been an age since she had seen one of the creatures, but she knew it was uncommon for them to attack unprovoked. "Just do exactly as I tell you. Do you understand, nuthanuth?"

"Yes." Pervinca whispered.

"Good girl." Dís breathed as a growl rumbled in the bear's throat. She had to get the Pervinca to safety – immediately. "There's a nice old tree just behind us to the left, do you see it?"

"Uh huh…"

"Very good. Alright now, sweetheart, what we're going to do is walk towards the tree very slowly, and you're going to climb up there for me." Dís murmured. "Alright?"

"Alright."

She took a step and the bear growled, raising itself up onto its hind legs. Pervinca screamed before Dís could stop her and the bear let out an ear-splitting roar. Cursing, Dís whipped around and wrenched Pervinca off of the ground, sprinting the short distance to the tree. Throwing the terrified child into the branches she whirled around and drew a knife from her belting, berating herself for leaving her sword on the pony.

"Dís!"

"Climb!" she cut sharply over Pervinca's sob. "Climb, little one, now!"

A deep crash resonated through the woods as the bear's front paws slammed into the ground and Dís took a deep breath. The creature was three times her size and though she did not doubt her own abilities she was not overly fond of her chances. Surely the others must have heard something, they were not too far away –

The bear lunged and Pervinca screamed at the top of her lungs. Dís dove out of the way and rolled across the ground, springing to her feet in time to avoid the bear's enormous jaw. She glanced up at the girl in the tree.

"Higher, sweetheart climb higher!" she yelled, dancing out of the bear's reach again. If she could simply stall it until help came, until she stood a proper chance –

With a low, rumbling growl, the bear swiped its paw through the air. Dís leapt backwards, striking out with her knife as she did so. The bear roared as the blade cut its skin and she ran towards the other end of the clearing, intending on leading it away from Pervinca. Shivers ran down her spine as another roar shattered the air around her. She dove behind a tree but the bear's reactions were not as slow as she would have liked and its swiping paw collided with her shoulder.

Clenching her teeth, Dís could not help but cry out as large claws dug through her clothes and ripped her skin open. Pervinca screamed.

"No!"

Dís wanted to look at the girl who was scarcely more than a toddler, but she could not afford it - if a strike like that landed on her neck she was dead. Forcing herself to her feet, Dís slipped around the tree and whirled around to face the bear.

When it lunged again she sidestepped, successful this time, and hurled her knife at her furry attacker. Though her aim was true, the bear stood at the wrong moment and the blade embedded itself in a tree. Pulling another knife from her belt, Dís swallowed and took several steps backwards.

"Amad!"

Crushing her instinct to turn around with all the willpower she could muster, Dís ignored the frantic call of her youngest son and raced past the bear, just out of reach of its paws. If Kíli was here and she kept the bear's attention on her they should have no problem getting rid of the creature, no matter its size.

"That's it…" she muttered with a half-mad grin as the creature pursued her. "Keep your eyes on-"

A series of incredibly loud and unexpected howls tore through the air and bear and dwarf alike looked to the woods in shock. Growling and yapping ripped through the air and the next thing Dís knew a pack of five young wolves burst into the clearing. They raced towards the bear as though it had personally offended them, ignoring the startled princess in the process.

For a moment, the wolves' mesmerising teamwork stole the breath from Dís' lungs. From all directions they dove at the bear, turning away just before it could swipe at them. Their timing was perfect and the bear quickly became agitated. An arrow whistled through the air and into the bear's shoulder and it stood up on its hind legs with one last roar, before taking off into the trees with a defeated, chilling moan, pursued by the excited wolves.

As the beasts disappeared, Dís took a deep breath and looked at her son.

"Nice shot, Kíli." She called. "Are you alright, Pervinca?"

"Let's go back now please!"

Dís walked briskly towards them. "I think that's a good idea."

"Amad, are you hurt?" Kíli asked in concern. "You're bleeding!"

"I will be fine for now; we can sort it out when we've regrouped. Where are the others?"

Kíli lifted Pervinca out of the tree as he spoke. "They won't be far. We heard the roar and some of us split up to look for you – we didn't know where you were. We said to regroup by the trolls."

"Very well, let's get back on the road." Dís said briskly as Pervinca attached herself to the princess' side. Though her shoulder was throbbing, she lifted the girl onto her hip. Immediately, the trembling child buried her head in Dís' neck. As she walked towards the way they came, Dís paused. "Kíli, are you coming?"

The dwarf tore his eyes away from the woodland. "Yes, sorry. Coming. What happened? I didn't think there were bears in these parts?"

"It is rare to find them here," Dís conceded. "We were rather unlucky – especially given that most bears won't attack unprovoked. It was probably desperate."

"Where did the wolves come from?"

"I don't know, Kíli." Dís sighed, rubbing her forehead.

After a few short minutes the trolls came into sight – along with most of the rest of their companions. Pervinca wiggled and cried out in relief.

"Mama!"

Dís lowered the girl to the floor and allowed her to sprint to her parents, before turning to give what she hoped would be a reassuring smile to her own son.

Kíli's smile froze on his face. "Do you hear that?"

Blood ran cold in her veins as Dís listened to the sounds around her. There was a low whine, an excited sound – a canine sound. "We need to go, now!"

"Agreed. I think Fíli and Bofur went that way, I'll go get them."

Dís turned her walk into a jog as she approached the others. "We must leave, sooner rather than later."

"Why, what's going on?" Bilbo asked even as he repacked his bag. "Dís, are you bleeding?"

"Bears!" Pervinca gasped out. "Bears and wolves!"

"That's a decent summary…" Dís breathed.

"Bears?" Paladin's eyes looked ready to bulge right out of his skull. "Wolves?!"

"Aye, so we should probably move out as quickly as we can."

"Kíli – look out!"

Fíli's yell tore through the air and Dís' heart froze in her chest. She whirled around, instantly spotting her older son's blonde hair from where he stood beside Bofur. Midway between the pair and the others stood Kíli, and it took Dís a moment to figure out what Fíli was shouting about.

And then Dís, daughter of Thráin, son of Thrór, watched her youngest son get knocked to the floor by a full grown wolf. Screaming filled the air, too many voices to distinguish properly, and Dís raced forward with her heart in her throat because she knew it was already too late, too late, too late –

The wolf went for her baby's neck.

Dís' heart stopped.

And here ends that chapter. I promise with all that I own that the next update will be quicker. If you could let me know what you thought of that chapter, that would be wonderful!

As a brief note, I would just like to thank every single person who has ever left a review on this story – I am currently working through some health issues, as I have said, but the positive feedback and encouragement I receive for this story has managed to keep me positive about myself, and I cannot thank you all enough for that. For some crazy reason, this story has become more popular than I could have ever dreamed and it has done wonders for my confidence as a writer. So thank you, each and every one of you, for you lovely reviews, your loyal follows and your incredible favourites. It means the world to me, it really does.

Thanks for reading, I will update as soon as I can (I promise it will be less than twenty days this time!)