In the morning, mist and darkness was still surrounding the Lonely Mountain. A dwarven army, a few hundred dwarves strong, marched towards the Iron Hills under the command of prince Frerin and the general of Thorins army, Dwalin. They marched out to attack the Iron Hills and to avenge the many dead on Erebors side. Shortly before they reached the Iron Hills they encountered a smaller troup of dwarves from the Iron Hills. The battle was short and bloody and the dwarves from the Iron Hills were defeated in no time. Dwalin let his army set camp and sat down beside Frerin with ale for them both.

'This was too easy.' Frerin was musing. 'They were only few and they were completely surprised to see us. They should have known that we would come and would avenge our people, why weren´t they prepared?'

'They have been too sure of themselves, it happens to all of us sometimes.' Dwalin frowned and gave the ale to the prince. 'Do not think about this, my prince, lets celebrate the conquer of our enemies.'

'I am no fool, Dwalin.' Frerin looked at the general with intelligent eyes. 'I have a sense for things that do not seem as they are.'

'Is that so?' Dwalin grew irritated. This was not going after the plan. 'And what does your sense tell you now?'

'That you are not drinking your ale.' Frerin had only voiced a suspicion, but as he saw Dwalins face he knew that he was right. This was a trap. A trap that would cost his life.

Suddenly the soldiers around him started to spasm in pain, holding their stomachs. The food and ale had been poisoned and the dwarves from the Lonely Mountain died within moments. All but Dwalins trusted ones, about two hundred soldiers. Frerin looked around and realised that he had fallen into a clever trap. There had never been attacks from the Iron Hills. Dwalin and his men had used the long history of hostility between the Iron Hills and Erebor to spur the leaders on and to provoke a war. A war which no side had actually started. They had attacked an innocent group of dwarves from the Iron Hills and now it would seem as if the Iron Hills had poisoned the army from Erebor. Frerin took a deep breath. There was only one thing that would lead his brother to declare a full scale war on the Iron Hills immediately. His death. Frerin closed his eyes in defeat.

King Thorin pinched the bridge of his nose. He had no choice, he had to declare war on the Iron Hills. This morning, the body of his brother Frerin had been found, along with the remains of the army he had set out with. They also found the bodies of some dwarves from the Iron Hills and it was obvious what had happened. Thorin knew that he had been forced into a dangerous position. Dale had an alliance with the Iron Hills and they would support their allies. Erebor would have to fight on two fronts.

Billa was completely taken by surprise by the turn of events. She had been for herself alot since the feast and the death of the princess and had not been up to date as far as the political situation was concerned. Cursing her ignorance, Billa sneaked out of the mountain to meet with lord Bard of Dale. He had been one of her supporters in the past and had supported Gandalfs idea of sending Billa to Erebor.

'This war should not happen, we have to do something!' Billa exclaimed and paced back and forth before lord Bard. 'This is not right!'

'I will stay at the side of my allies from the Iron Hills.' lord Bard stated grimly. 'They have done nothing to provoke this attacks. King Thorin has to take the consequences for this war onto his shoulders.'

'The Iron Hills were the ones who attacked the dwarves of Erebor first! King Thorin had no choice!' Billa was furious. This would end in fire and death.

'Lord Dain had nothing to do with this. He is King Thorins cousin. Why should he attack him?' lord Bard was ready to take up arms, but Billa would not let him.

'Of course he would never tell you that the Iron Hills attacked first, that would have cost him the alliance with you!' Billa looked at Bard in confusion. The lord was usually one who thought twice before he condemned someone. But not this time. 'You want Erebor, do you?'

Billa voiced her horrid suspicion and by the look on Bards face she had hit right into the bull´s eye. 'You raised your glass to him! You raised your glass to him, while all this time you only wanted his kingdom! All of this...sending me to Erebor and reaching out for peace - it was just a farce!'

'Mistress Baggins, you should not jump to conclusions.' lord Bard tried to save some of his dignity, but it was too late. 'This is a matter which concerns all of the people of the West.'

'I am a subject of the people of the west and I cannot believe that I have been used like this by my own people!' Billa exclaimed furiously.

'You should remind yourself of that, next time you dance cheek to cheek with the king.' Bard snarled and turned his back on Billa, leaving her speechless.

As Billa returned to her rooms at the side of the mountain she was surprised to see Balin standing on her balcony with a handful soldiers who had arrested Tauriel and a dark haired dwarf who seemed awfully familiar to Billa. Her whole garden was trampled flat, but Billa did not care, she needed to know what had happened.

'Master Balin, may you please tell me why you and these soldiers destroyed my garden and have their hands on miss Tauriel and...him? Who is he?' Billa knew that she had seen the dwarf somewhere already, but she could not remember where.

'Mistress Baggins, the kings concubine is under arrest for treason.' Balin informed her. 'She tried to flee with the help of this...dwarf.' he pointed at the young dwarf, who struggled in the guards grasp. He had climbed the outside wall of the mountain with the help of some strategically placed arrows and had tried to climb down with Tauriel as the guards had stopped them.

'Tauriel...' Billa felt betrayed by the she-elf, but as she saw the looks between the elf and the dwarf she understood. And she remembered where she had seen the dwarf before. He had always been there when Billa delivered her letters from Tauriel and he had been near her to drop the letters of Tauriels family into her basket. Thinking of it he seemed to be the one who had received and written the letters. Billa took a deep breath. She would try to speak to the king.

Tauriel and Kili were brought to king Thorin who sat in court, surrounded by his advisors and the council of Erebor. Treason was a high crime in Erebor, mostly punished by death and Billa feared for the life of the concubine and her love. King Thorin sat on his throne, his face a stony mask and he looked upon his former concubine and the other dwarf with an icy expression.

'Tauriel of Mirkwood and Kili or Erebor, you have been charged for treason against the king of Erebor and Erebor itself.' Balin declared the case and paced in front of the two arrested lovers. 'You, Tauriel of Mirkwood, have used the kings trust and dishonored his faith in you. He gave you more freedom than your rank deserved and let you stay with the tutor of his family, under the open sky and you paid him back with an attempt to flee this kingdom. A kingdom who has been offered you as a home, not a prison. You, Kili of Erebor, your intrusion of this mountain is a serious delict. You attacked the souverenity of this mountain and laid hands on one of the concubines of the king. Each deed alone brings the punishment of death.'

Tauriel and Kili kneeled before the throne, their heads lowered and their gaze to the ground. As Balin had finished, Tauriel lifted her gaze and spoke.

'My king, I know that I deceived your trust. But please now, that I never meant to dishonor you or your kingdom. I was sent to your side by order of king Thranduil of Mirkwood after my love, Kili of Erebor, asked the king for my hand. King Thranduil would not give me to a dwarf of too little importance in his eyes and sent me to you. I have been a loyal subject of Mirkwood and did what I was told, but my heart belongs to Kili. I could not breathe, I could not live on without my love at my side. I had to do what my heart asked from me. I beg for your forgiveness, o king, but I know that I have not deserved it.' Tauriel lowered her gaze again and closed her eyes as she felt the kings burning gaze on her face.

Thorin took a deep breath and sat back straight on his throne. He had been furious about the incident, but Tauriels words had touched something inside of him. He looked into the crowd gathered in the throne room and looked eyes with the hobbit. Her soft eyes bore into his and her pleading look made his stomach ache. He turned back to the arrested elf and dwarf and hesitated.

'Your majesty, if I may.' Billa stepped forward and started talking without permission, much to the dismay of the king and his council. The whole court listened while the hobbit made her plea. 'I have come here to speak for Tauriel and Kili. Though the laws of Erebor need to be respected, a punishment in form of a death sentence should be reconsidered. Erebor has struggled to converge to the people of the west and a punishment such as a death sentence would interfere with the diplomatical...'

'Shazara!' king Thorin shouted and glared daggers at the tutor of his family. 'Enough! This elf and this dwarf have commited an act of treason against my kingdom! They will be punished according to the laws of Erebor. No dwarf, not even myself stands over the law. I believe these were your words, mistress hobbit.'

Billa swallowed hard as Thorin stood up and towered her. She dared not say another word. The king was furious and the dwarves in the throne room waited for his answer.

'I, Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, king under the mountain banish you, Tauriel of Mirkwood and Kili of Erebor. You are never to set foot on dwarven land ever again. Non-compliance of this banishment will be sentenced with death.' Thorin spoke with a hard tone and looked at the elf and dwarf with an unreadable expression. 'You, mistress hobbit, will leave Erebor together with them. You have no place amongst us.'

Billas legs were threatened to give in underneath her as she heard the kings orders. The king had not sentenced Tauriel and Kili to death, but he had banished them from his kingdom and Billa from his heart.