Billa managed to stay away from the king for a few days, but her heart was heavy and her mind was occupied with the expression on the kings face as she had left him. A mixture of sorrow, hurt and anger had shown in Thorins eyes and his handsome face had turned cold. She knew from Balin that the king was spending more time in the treasury again and Billa worried. In the meantime she had been informed about the goldsickness that ran in the line of Durin. She was told that Thorins grandfather had become mad under the influence of gold and that Thorins father also succumbed to it. As Billa had asked if Thorin was sick too neither Balin nor Dis would answer her. Billa was standing on the balcony of her new home, musing, as a servant came rushing through the huge door.

'Mistress Baggins! You need to come with me, please hurry!' she stammered in broken Westron.

Billa looked at her with an alarmed expression. 'Its almost bedtime! What happened?'

'The king - little Sigrid...please come with me!' the servant hurried down the corridors and Billa followed, her worry increasing with every step she took towards the royal wing. As they arrived Billa was greeted by Balin, who looked tired and...sad.

'Master Balin, what happened?' Billa needed to know. The whole royal family was here and many of them were crying silently.

'Princess Sigrid.' Balin swallowed heavily. 'She has a fever.'

'A fever? There must be something that can be done?' Billa felt her heart wrench in sorrow for the little princess. As she looked around she knew that there was no hope left for Sigrid. Candles were lit and the kings wives were praying. The concubines held the other dwarflings in their arms comforting them. 'Why am I here, master Balin?'

'You are here, mistress hobbit, because princess Sigrid wanted to see you before she...' Balin sighed heavily. 'You have to promise me one thing. I know that you do not respect our protocol, but please - its is custom that we do not shed any tears when another dwarf dies. It is an honor to enter the halls of our ancestors and our tears would soil the memory of the good life the deceased has lived here with us. You are not to shed any tears when the princess leaves us, do you understand?'

Billa looked at the old advisor, numbed in pain and sorrow and only managed to nod. Balin shoved her through the door to the kings bedroom and Billa froze. King Thorin was sitting on the bed, holding his little daughter in his arms as if he tried to shield her from an invisible danger. Dis and Fili sat at the end of the bed, staring at the princess in the kings arms. Her little head was red from exhaustion and her hair sticked to her head in sweaty streaks. Billa sat down silently and waited for the king to acknowledge her presence. As Thorin turned his head to face her Billa had to hold back a gasp. The kings eyes were full of grief and despair, he knew that his little bunny was dying and that he could do nothing about it. He was the king, but he was incapable of saving his daughter from the fever. Thorin nodded gratefully as he realised that Billa had come to pay her respects to Sigrid. With teary eyes Billa reached for the little princess and as she touched her hand Sigrid opened her eyes to look at her tutor one last time. Sigrid was too weak to speak, she only smiled at Billa in her own sweet way and then closed her eyes again. Only moments later the little princess was gone. She had died in her fathers arms. Billa needed all her strength to not burst into tears. Shaking she lowered her gaze and fought against the pain she felt at the loss of the princess. Dis and Fili also lowered their heads in grief, but Thorin who had seemed controlled all that time cradled his little daughter in his arms and pressed a kiss onto his daughters head. Billa could see tears rolling down his face and her heart broke.

The next morning Billa let her tears run down her face freely as she stood in her classroom and looked upon Sigrids empty seat. The king had many children, but Sigrid had been his favorite, she had been his heart. Billa had loved the little dwarf dearly, she had been the sunlight under the mountain and a true joy to anyone who had been near her. Her loss had shaken the whole mountain.

After the day´s lessons Billa found king Thorin in his study, his head lowered and his gaze fixed on his paperworks. His grief was obvious, the king looked tired and pale and he had not been outside of his chambers since the death of Sigrid. His family worried about him, Billa knew it. Especially Fili worried for his father, but he did his best to keep an impression of strength on the outside. Inside, the prince was as devastated by his sisters death as his father was. Dis had continued with her life, her grief buried deep in her mind. She ran the royal wing like she had done before, only the sad gleam in her eyes being an indication for the loss of her youngest child. Billa cursed the dwarven necessity to be strong.

'Excuse me, your majesty?' Billa cleared her throat after a while of silence. 'The lessons are over for today and I was wondering...if you would visit your children tomorrow? They are asking for you and I...your Highness, you have other children who need their father. I understand your sorrow, but you...'

'You understand my sorrow? Do you?' Thorin turned towards her, his eyes flashing with anger and hurt. 'You have not gotten over the death of your own husband, he died years ago and you still deprive yourself of living! Never you are just a woman, you lie to yourself and you do not live yourself!You did not accept my present to you and you deny yourself thinking about me. Don´t tell me to continue living my life if you do not live yours yourself out of the same reasons. You have no right!'

Billa faltered under the words of the dwarf king. While her mind knew that he was right, her heart was badly hurt. She never allowed herself to think about h er and the king. She had never realised that Thorin had noticed it and it surprised her even more that he even cared about it. But she would not give up that easily. The king meant alot to her and she would not let his words make her think less of him.

'What about Fili?' Billa asked determinately. 'He needs you. He is your heir, but he is still a dwarfling. He needs his father.'

Mentionning of Fili made Thorins gaze soften. 'I am father to all of Erebor, not only to Fili. You are correct, I have to move on.'

Taking a deep breath Thorin walked towards the corridors before he turned back to Billa. 'Will Fili be a good king?'

'He has a warm heart and posesses high intelligence, he will make a good king, your majesty.' Billa answered honestly.

As Thorin smiled faintly and started to walk to the royal wing, Billa followed. They walked in silence for a few moments before Thorin spoke again. 'Do you feel at home, here, mistress Baggins?'

'I never have been at home anywhere, your majesty.' Billa answered honestly and thought about Bag End. It had been her home for some time, as long as her husband had lived. But it wasn´t anymore. 'The road has been my home in the past, I guess.'

'The road is for travel, not a destination.' Thorin told her. 'You made a really unexpected journey with your travel here, mistress Baggins.'

Billa smiled at the king and past the door to the royal wing which he held open for her. Thorins family quickly gathered around him as he had entered and he took his time to greet every one of them while Billa sat down on one of the benches and smiled at the family reunion. After a while Thorin joined her and sat down on the bench at her side. Billa shyly looked at him and then looked at his his wives and concubines.

'Don´t your wives ever get jealous?' Billa asked. Thorin was spending alot of time with her, although he had so many wives and concubines to attend to. Billa wondered why.

'Why should they be jealous?' Thorin smirked at the surprised hobbit. He took a closer look at her and his grin grew wider. 'You have problems with the size of my family? Or lets say the number of my wives?'

'A marriage is between one man and one woman, it should be sacred. A sacred bond only between themselves.' Billa stated firmly and hoped that Thorin would not condemn her for her opinion.

'Could you imagine my wives tearing each other apart over me?' Thorin made a noise that sounded like a deep chuckle to Billa. 'It is easier that way. And everyone is happy here.'

'Are you sure?' Billa dared asking. She thought of Tauriel in particular as she asked, for the other wives seemed to be happy, indeed.

Thorin looked at her in surprise. 'This may not be your way of living, mistress Baggins, but I have not forced one single one of my wives or concubines to come to my side or to stay at my side. If they were not happy, then they would not be here.' He took a deep breath and leaned closer to Billa. 'You think that my wives should love me? And I them?'

Billa had difficulties breathing with the king that near to her. She looked around nervously, but nobody seemed to look at them. Nodding, she looked back at the king.

'I will tell you a legend of my people, mistress Baggins.' the king sat back on the bench, making himself comfortable. 'In the Second Age, Durin I was reborn as Durin IV and was married to a dwarf from Ered Luin, Mora. He deeply loved his wife and she loved him. One day, the dwarves of Erebor went to war against the dwarves of the Iron Hills, who had been our enemies as long as history reaches back. The king of the Iron Hills, Gror, fought against Durin and wounded him badly. His wife, Mory, had followed her king into battle, in the armor of a normal soldier. As she saw Grors axe swing against her husband in a fatal blow she shielded Durin with her own body, saving his life, but losing hers. As the body of the queen fell to the ground her helmet fell off and Durin saw his wifes bloody face in the mudd at his feet. The battle was at an end. As Gror realised that he had killed Durins wife he ended all hostility and honorably retreated from the battlefield, giving Durin the space to mourn. Durin was never the same ever again. His wifes love had saved his life and the lives of many of his dwarves, but it had cost him his heart. He died a few years later, from a broken heart. Many dwarves say that the arkenstone, the heart of the mountain is in fact Durins heart, turned to ice. The love he felt for his wife shines upon us from the arkenstone today and never again has a king of the line of Durin married for love. At least not to our knowledge. Their love cost them all. Their lives and their hapiness.'

Billa listened to the legend and closed her eyes in defeat. The story troubled her deeply. King Thorins voice was sad and deep as he told her the story and Billa relived it as if she had been there. The knowledge that Thorin would never marry out of love broke her heart and she did not know why. Not yet.