I stood beside Thorin's tomb that night, my right hand resting against the stone while my left gripped my staff. I had been dismissed from the infirmary earlier that evening after Thorin's funeral and Fili's coronation were complete. Kili waited for me in my room; he wanted to talk about what had happened earlier that day.

I closed my eyes and rested my forehead against the stone. "I'm sorry, my friend," I murmured, taking a deep breath. "I wish I could have done more, but… I couldn't. And I think you understood that. I wanted to say… You told me that I made Kili a better man, that I made him happy, and to marry him. I want to believe that, but it's hard, what with everything that's happened. I don't want to make a mistake, and I don't want to hurt him, I just…" I took a breath, then released it, then took another one quickly, trying to calm down. "Tell me what to do, please."

"You won't find any answers down here, Aeyera."

I turned to see Fili standing by the door, watching me with kind, sad eyes. He crossed the tomb to stand beside me, his cane clicking against the stone, and laid his hand upon the grave next to mine. "Your Highness," I greeted, a small smile on my lips. He had changed out of his armor and now wore a dark blue tunic similar to the one Thorin now wore. I had changed into newer, nicer versions of my old travelling clothes that Tauriel had provided, although my crown still rested upon my head. Besides the crowns upon our heads, the staffs in our hands, and the dismal setting, we could have been back on the quest, standing within a stone outcropping like we had all those times it had rained.

"Princess," he nodded. A slight grin crossed his face, but it disappeared so quickly that I wondered if I had imagined it. "I heard what you said. About your trepidation regarding your marriage to my brother."

"Fili—"

He shook his head and held up his hand to stop me. "Let me speak." I did. "I do not know your story as well as my brother, but I know enough. I know you love him, and I know that you would die for him, as you've proven more times than I can count." I looked away, blinking back tears. "And I know he loves you, much more than he loves anyone else. Even me." I looked up in astonishment. "Do you know how I got this?" he asked, gesturing to his leg.

"Because you were protecting Thranduil."

He shrugged. "Yes, a bit. I wasn't protecting him as much as keeping the orcs away from you; he happened to be in the general vicinity. No, the reason I got this wound was because Kili wasn't right beside me like I thought. Do you know why?" I shook my head. "Because he was trying to fight his way back to you. No, don't you dare give me that look," he scolded. Guilt surged within me. It was my fault. "It wasn't your fault or Kili's fault; I should have been paying more attention. My point in telling you this is not to make you feel guilty but to show you how much you mean to my brother. If he left me to get to you, it means that he loves you very dearly. If you were to leave, or something were to happen to you, it would devastate him."

We both moved to the opposite wall and slid to the ground, neither able to prop ourselves up for any longer. Our staffs rested between us on the floor. I couldn't bring myself to respond to Fili's words, so I stared at the stone ahead of me, waiting for him to speak again.

"Why did you save him?"

I looked over at him, my brow furrowing. "What?"

"Why did you save him?" he repeated.

I pulled my good knee to my chest and wrapped my arms around it, staring blankly at the wall in front of me. "I made a promise."

"No, it's more than that. That may have been the case in the beginning, but it's not anymore. Why did you save him? Tell me the truth."

"Because I would never forgive myself if anything were to happen to him that I could have prevented."

"Why?" When I didn't answer, he asked another question, dragging me back into the memories of the quest. "Do you remember when you found out who Kili and I really were?"

I nodded, thinking about how furious I had been. I had ignored them and then fought both of them—and won.

"You were angry at both of us, but mostly at Kili. Why?"

"Because I felt that he had lied to me. Betrayed me. I cared about him, and…"

"And?" He continued prying, nearing the core of my feelings, the heart that I had tried so hard to seal off.

"I loved him. I didn't know it then, but I loved him."

"And you still do."

"I still do," I repeated softly.

"Then stop worrying. Aeyera, listen to your future brother in law. I know Kili better than anyone. I have always watched over him, always taken care of him. Do you think I would be encouraging you to marry him if I didn't think you were what is best for him?" I shook my head. "Right. Aeyera, loving you has made him a better person than he ever was or could have been without knowing you."

"I had a vision," I blurted suddenly, cutting Fili off. I had to tell him, to explain myself. I needed his advice. "I saw what would have happened if I had died in battle but all of you had lived. Kili had a wife, a child. How could I be his One if he had a wife in another time without me?"

"What was the context of this…vision?"

I explained my betrayal and actions to him as well as the alternative, watching his face for any rage or distrust. There was none.

"Ever since I was a boy, I have nearly always been able to tell if people are lying to me. There are a few exceptions, but in the cases of those whom I was close to, I would always know. I know you very well, Aeyera." He continued. "If you had betrayed us and gone about sending messages to Thranduil, I would have known. Do you know what would have happened once I found out? I would have kept Kili away from you, explained your betrayal to him. Odds are that his feelings for you would not have grown the way they did, he would not have proposed to you, and he would have gone on without knowing that you were his One. As I said before, I will do what is best for my brother. It is also very likely that he would have had to marry for position, especially is Thorin was King. Fortunately for both of you, this future does not exist. It never did. Explain something to me, Princess. You claim to love my brother and yet you always seem to be searching for something to prove that you do not, or that he does not love you. Why?"

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back until it rested against the wall. "Because in my imprisonment, I was tortured both physically and mentally. In my torment, I would see people that were not there, experience things that did not exist. Even now I fear that all this is simply a hallucination and that when the dawn breaks I will awaken to find that it all was a dream. A part of me feels that my love for Kili if the only thing I am truly certain of, and yet at the same time I am afraid that my feelings are confused and misguided, and not returned. I am afraid that Kili's love for me is nothing more than a passing fancy. I am afraid, Fili."

"I know. But you don't have to be. I've seen you around him when you're frightened. You gravitate towards him, and you automatically relax, as if you feel safer with him." I nodded. "If this is real, which I believe it is, then go after it. Believe in it. Besides," he added. "I'm certain the Valar would be quite displeased if the gift they gave you went unused."

He chuckled at my stunned expression, and a real smile crossed his face as I sputtered incoherent responses, unable to come up with a proper retort. "I am just being honest, Princess." He took my hand, pushing me carefully to my feet and handing me my staff. I helped him up as well. "Go. If you think you could live without him, or he without you, you are terribly mistaken. But it is your choice."

I nodded and departed, desperately needing to speak to Kili. I hobbled up to my chambers as quickly as my injured leg would allow me, cursing Azog and the small orc that had stabbed me as pain raced through my body. When I reached the room, I was out of breath and in pain, barely able to stand up straight. Kili opened the door when I knocked and helped me to the bed, letting me lean on him. He lifted me up and set me on the mattress, making sure I was comfortable before sitting beside me.

"I'm sorry for what happened last night," he whispered before I could speak. He stared into the fire, shadows dancing across his face. "I didn't mean to push you, I just… I wanted to know…" he trailed off, anguish written on his face.

"I understand," I replied softly. "But when you asked me to answer whether or not I would have chosen to betrayed you, the consequences of that choice were made known to me. You should know that had I been confronted with anything but your death and the death of the company, I would not have betrayed you. But I could not let you—any of you—die. Had I been forced to make the decision, I would have chosen to allow you to live. But it killed me to betray you; I was the only member of the company to fall."

"I should not have asked," he murmured, placing his head in his hands and tangling his fingers in his hair. "You spent weeks being tortured, all the while refusing to betray us. You lost everything, but still you were strong. I am sorry. I should have trusted you." He looked up at me with sad brown eyes, pleading for me to forgive him.

"I forgive you," I told him, leaning into his chest. "Just… please do not ask me about that or about choices I would have made had circumstances been different. I cannot bear to focus on them."

"Is that what triggers the visions?" Kili asked. His chest vibrated as he spoke, and his arm wrapped itself around my shoulders, warming me. "Thinking about what might have been?"

"Considering all the choices I've made, I would not be surprised. When I think about it, the question that causes it seems to be 'what if?'" I thought about all the visions, puzzling them out and piecing them together. "All the visions I had of the final battle were caused by me wondering if I could protect you, wondering if you would be alright. These recent ones were wondering what would have happened if my choices had been different. Perhaps this is why there are so few with this gift," I muttered as an afterthought. "Figuring it all out is enough to drive one mad."

Kili winced, clearly recalling the events of several nights prior when I had, in fact, lost my mind fir a brief while. "Could you find help?" Kili asked, composing himself. "Someone to teach you to understand your gift?"

"If I had centuries to learn, then yes," I exhaled, feeling suddenly exhausted. "But I do not. I could ask for control, but even that would be limited; it has run wild for too long."

"What can I do to help you?" he asked earnestly. "I'll do anything."

I stared at him, my mind blanking out of shock. I sat as still as a stone for nearly a minute before bursting into tears. Kili didn't try to say anything, or keep me from crying. He just held me close to him, rocking me back and forth until my tears were spent. "Please help me to understand," Kili whispered. "What can I do?"

"I can't stay in the mountain," I murmured, hiccupping. I realized that I hadn't told him this before, and I hoped he wouldn't be too hurt. But I couldn't keep it from him anymore. "This place… everything that happened here, it… the darkness… it will drive me mad, Kili. I will never be able to come back from it."

"Where will we go?" he asked after a long pause.

"I don't know. Perhaps Imladris. I cannot go to Lothlórien and risk bringing darkness to such a pure place, and I can no longer return to the Greenwood after everything that has happened. Perhaps i—" I stopped mid word and turned to stare at Kili, nearly struck dumb. "We?" I squeaked.

He chuckled softly and nodded. "Of course, 'we.'" He touched the beaded betrothal braid in my hair. "Do you know what this means? This means that we are bound together. That's what the braid symbolizes, and such a braid cannot lightly be torn apart. It's stayed in for weeks, even lasting through a battle; that's what's so powerful about them. Only the giver or the receiver can unravel them."

I nodded and rested against him, closing my eyes as his fingers brushed lightly through my hair. I dropped off to sleep, feeling safe and secure. Right before I fell asleep, however, a thought struck me, and my eyes shot open. "Bilbo is leaving," I blurted. "He's going to try and sneak away."

Kili jerked awake. "How d'you know?" his voice was slurred and heavy with sleep.

I thought about it. He had been jittery all the day and night before, going through his bags and rushing to and fro, and then disappearing for a long while into the catacombs. "He was acting strange today. I'd guess that he'd leave in the morning, so we need to be at the front gates around sunrise to wait for him."

Kili nodded tiredly and sat up with a grunt as I lay back down, kicking my boots off. He climbed out of the bed and made his way over to the door. I heard him speaking lowly, then heard someone else answer. He closed the door and crossed back to me, lying down next to me. I curled up against him, my back against his chest. One of his arms rested under his head, the other wrapped itself securely around my waist.

I finally fell asleep, knowing that my choice was coming, but also knowing that it would not be whether or not I loved Kili, because my love for him was the one thing I was certain of. No, the choice would be whether or not I would leave, whether or not I would marry him: my sanity or his happiness? Right as I slipped into a dreamless sleep, my thoughts corrected themselves. My sanity would always be questionable; who knew when another episode would strike. But my happiness… I would never be happy without Kili, or he without me. My leaving would be selfish, destroying both he and I in one fell blow.

I jerked awake the next morning and tried to leap out of the bed, only to be held in place by Kili's arm around my waist. I rolled over to face him and brushed his tangled hair away from his eyes. "Kili," I murmured softly. "Wake up."

His brown eyes fluttered open and blinked dazedly before focusing on me. He smiled lazily. "G'morning," he groaned, stretching.

"'Morning," I replied softly, gently disentangling myself from him. I took his hand and pulled him to the edge of the bed as I sat down and pulled my boots back on. "We must hurry," I told him, standing and wrapping my cloak around my shoulders. Kili stood and teetered for a moment, blinking back sleep. He had fallen asleep fully dressed, so I took his hand and my staff and pulled him out the door, limping towards the front gate. Kili finally woke up and led me through several shortcuts, and we reached the gate in record time. To my surprise, the rest of the company was already there.

Kili nodded to Bofur. "Thank you for finding everyone."

The miner nodded, but before anyone could speak, Balin's reached my ears. I stood beside Kili and the rest of the company, my staff in my hand, waiting for Bilbo to emerge. We stood out of sight, waiting for him to come.

"There is to be a great feast tonight," Balin's voice echoed through the halls. "Songs will be sung, tales will be told, and Thorin Oakenshield will pass into legend."

Kili's grip on my hand tightened, and I squeezed his in return, my heart aching. Bilbo and Balin passed by the alcove we were gathered in, and I led the others out, standing in a line on the edge of the gate. Bilbo and Balin stood upon the bridge facing one another.

"I know that's how you must honor him, but to me, he was never that. He was...to me, he was—" Bilbo cleared his throat, his voice catching. "Well, I think I'll slip quietly away, would you tell the others I said goodbye?" Bilbo asked Balin, his voice cracking.

"You can tell them yourself," Balin said kindly.

Bilbo turned around to see me and the rest of the company gathered at the gate, all with grieved, sober expressions. Bilbo smiled through his sadness, letting out a chocked breath. "If any of you are ever passing Bag End, uh..." he looked up, his expression clearing. "Tea is at four; there's plenty of it—you are welcome any time." We bowed, honoring the brave little hobbit who had given up so much for a people he didn't know, a hobbit who had lost one of his best friends. He started to turn away but turned back around quickly with a small laugh. "Ah, don't bother knocking."

I chuckled, tears brimming in my eyes, and raised my hand in farewell, then stepped forward and crouched down before him so that we saw eye to eye. "Farewell, Master Baggins," I smiled, my eyes filling with tears. My voice was soft and controlled. I thought about Thorin's dying wish, to be forgiven, and I wished he had been able to know that it had been granted. "Go back to your books and your armchair. Plant your trees, watch them grow. If more people valued home above gold, this world would be a merrier place." I pressed my lips to his forehead gently, then pulled back to look him in the eye. "It has been an honor to fight beside you, my friend."

Bilbo took a deep breath. "I am glad to have known you, Aeyera," he smiled sadly. "And I thank you for all you have done for me. You should come back to the Shire someday," he added. "Lilliana will look forward to seeing you again."

I laughed softly, my heart heavy. My presence in the Shire would mean only that my husband had passed, and that I would be going to the Undying Lands, something that was impossible for me now.

As Bilbo backed away to leave, Gandalf knelt down with a smile on his weathered face and embraced me. "Farewell, Princess Aeyera. May we meet again someday."

I wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his robe. "Goodbye, Mithrandir."

I stood with my fiancé, watching until the wizard and hobbit disappeared from view beyond the ridge. The company of Thorin Oakenshield was ended, the quest complete. Our journey was over. Kili took my hand once more, and I made a decision, thinking over everything that had happened the last few hours, weeks, months. I loved Kili, and I would marry him. Not right away, of course, but soon, and I would stay here. One day I might leave, but for now I would remain here with him where I belonged.

I turned suddenly and kissed him, smiling as his arms wrapped around me, one hand resting on my cheek. Kili needed me, and I needed him. We completed each other. One cannot be without that which makes it whole, and we could not be apart from one another. We would make mistakes, but we always would be there for each other to love and protect the other. And my heart warmed with the certainty that that would never change.

End of Book 3