Author's Note: I think this chapter speaks for itself.

Chapter 34-Princess of Erebor

The clanging of weapons and armor and the shouts of dwarves echoed around the armory. Karra fingered a large, angular sword, closing her fingers around the hilt and lifting it from its place in an old, dusty pile of weapons.

She nearly dropped it.

That thing was heavy. Some dwarf she was—Thorin was right. She was naïve and didn't even know how to wield a sword. All her lessons with Fili had come to nothing—Thorin was right.

She scanned the room with a sigh. So they really were going to war. The dwarves' weapons and armor shone with a cold light. She was sure—it had to be—they couldn't really want war. The only one who really wanted war was Thorin—it had to be. As she scanned the grim faces of the company, fear even deeper and darker than before settled in her stomach. Surely they didn't want war—didn't want to kill the tired, wounded men of Laketown over what amounted to so small a share of gold.

She was invisible; no eyes looked her direction, no hands moved to give her weapons. They didn't expect her to fight. Did she really want to?

Useless half-dwarf woman.

She dropped to the floor and turned to leave. There had to be better things to do than this—this watching, this worrying and wondering. Glancing one last time back into the armory, she saw a dwarf watching her. She managed a shaky half smile and a little wave before she turned the corner into an empty hallway.

She found herself in her room before she knew where she was going, her father's journal in her hands. As she hugged it to her chest, all the worries of the last day seemed to fade into a dark mist and she remembered sitting on her dad's lap, playing with his hair, his special nickname for her. She remembered fingering the key and begging him to tell her what it was. As a little girl with an active imagination, she would have believed anything.

Even this—this adventure, this story she was living.

Still clutching the journal, as if to force her deep uneasiness even further away, she took an uncertain step from her room and down the empty corridor. After what seemed hours of wandering—though surely it was just minutes—she entered the huge, treasure filled room, and sat in the corner, letting herself admire the sheer amount of treasure in this kingdom. With a smile, she opened the journal and began to turn the pages. There seemed to be something symbolic, something grand, about sitting in the ancient treasure hoard, reading her father's journal.

Digging absently in the gold at her side, she felt her fingers close around something cold and hard, and set the journal at her side. She saw a circlet peeking through the coins, a golden circlet with a large blue jewel set in the center. And it was just sitting there, waiting to be worn.

She lifted it, almost reverently, and set it on her head. Grinning now, she stood. The circlet contained her short, fluffy hair nicely. She felt like a princess—a dwarven princess. Her dad would be proud.

Laughing, she twirled, watching her skirt as it twirled around her feet, enjoying for a moment the feeling of the crown resting on her head. A shadow moved, and she stopped, a deep flush rising in her cheeks. Had someone seen her little display of silliness?

Fili stood in the doorway.

"I can explain," she blurted out. "I…I…"

"You don't need to explain." He stepped forward. He wore no armor. Karra reached to take the circlet off, but he lifted a hand to stop her. "Please don't. I like it."

Karra gulped. "Where did you come from?" she said. "I mean…I…aren't all the dwarves preparing for war?"

"Yes. That's why I'm here," he said. "I had to find you…I had to speak to you. If it comes to war, Karra, there is a possibility…" he paused, and his eyes met hers. "There is a possibility that some of us may not live to see the end."

"Don't say that!" she cried. "Don't…"

"No. Karra." Fili stood in front of her now, his hands on her shoulders, his eyes looking deeply into hers. "I couldn't go into battle without…" his voice trailed off, and he looked away. "I didn't speak before. Tradition held me back. Fear of my uncle held me back. I didn't know… He took a deep breath, and drew her just slightly closer to him. "I didn't know if you loved me."

Karra just stared at him for a moment, trying to slow her heartbeat and breathing to a normal, reasonable pace. "Fili…" She clenched her hands to stop their shaking. "Yes!" The word came out so loud it echoed around the room. "Yes! Of course! Yes!"

A grin spread over his face and he slid his arms around her waist and lifted her from the ground, swinging her in a circle, laughing, unable to keep the giddy happiness from his voice. "Oh, Karra, Karra, Karra, I was so afraid it was only a dream!"

"How could you be?" Even as she spoke, her lips twitched into a smile. "I've loved you since…well, I don't even know!" She laughed, and then the smile slowly faded. "But…why? How? I mean, I'm only a little naïve half dwarf who—"

"Karra." He cupped her face in his hands. "If I ever hear you speak my uncle's words again, I'll…" He drew her face to his and pressed a kiss to her lips. She felt a wave of giddy nervous happiness that made her want to dance in circles and fly. She felt his hand stroking her cheek, and her hands clasped around his waist. Her feet barely seemed to touch the ground. Her face was still held in his hands, and his eyes never left hers. "None of that matters." A soft smile touched his lips. "Any dwarf would be honored to be loved by you."

Karra giggled, a giggle that was somehow both nervous and joyful at the same time. "I love you, Fili!" she blurted out, just wanting to say the words again. "I love you and I'll…I'll do anything, I don't even care if Thorin hates me now!" She leaned forward and kissed him, burying her hands in his hair.

"Well," he said, as she finally pulled back. "It is custom for the women of our people to choose their husbands. I believe that settles it!" He laughed, a laugh slowly fading into a grin. "You'll be a princess, Karra, and I'll see that you're treated like one!" He drew her close, and she buried her head in his shoulder, all worries forgotten.

A coin fell clattering to the floor at the edge of the room, and they turned, his arms still clasped around her waist. Kili leaned against the wall, his arms crossed, a cocky grin plastered on his face.

"Kili…" Fili began, a look of annoyance crossing his face.

Kili grinned, his eyes glinting with mischief. "I'm happy for you," he said. "Fili, you know you don't deserve her, right? Karra, I could tell you all manner of stories…"

Karra grinned. "Please do," she said. Kili took a step forward and she held up her hand. "Later. I want to hear everything about him—after this whole battle mess is worked out."

Kili gave her a lopsided smile. "Gladly."

Fili and Karra looked at each other and grinned.

Karra looked out over the ruins of Dale, her chin resting in her hands. They hardly looked like ruins anymore—lights blazed from the windows, and here and there, a light moved from house to house in the streets. Noises and echoes drifted up to the guard tower—they were preparing for war, too, she guessed.

Not that it really mattered.

She was going to be a princess. Princess of Erebor.

Fili's wife.

She gazed out the window, barely seeing anything that went on below. She hadn't dared dream farther than—well, farther than the next time she saw Fili, the next time he spoke to her. She hadn't dared dream of being a princess—dwarven royalty! And yet, that seemed only a small thing now. Fili was the best man—the best dwarf she had ever known. Months ago, when he had been only a wandering dwarf, in a group of wandering dwarves, without hope of a kingdom—she would have said yes without hesitation. Though it was dark, and the torches had begun to burn low, she felt the warmth of a sunny day, and a feeling of comfortable happiness. Tomorrow seemed days away. She could think of nothing but the words any dwarf would be honored to be loved by you, the feeling of his hands gently drawing her towards him, and thought of the future—beyond tomorrow, beyond the war.

What would Kat say? She would be happy, of course. Karra grinned at the thought. Fili was so much more than her friend could have ever dreamed for her. A prince! For the first time in months, she wished she had her phone, and she wished she could make a call from Middle-Earth to her home. Kat's reaction would be priceless. Her friend's tall, dark, and handsome suddenly seemed to silly in the face of all that she had gone through with her prince.

Her prince.

She liked that.

The movement of a shadow and the light pat of a footstep pulled her from her reverie. She whirled around to see Bilbo standing in the doorway. She let out a sigh as reality settled back onto her mind. "Hi…sorry…you startled me."

"I couldn't sleep." His eyes scanned the room, and he Karra noticed a slight movement in his hand, as if he were rubbing something nervously between his fingers. "Are you tired?" he said abruptly. "You seem tired."

"No, I'm not tired at all." A light flush of happiness rose in her cheeks. "I couldn't sleep tonight if I wanted to."

"Worried?"

"Worried?" She raised an eyebrow. "No! I couldn't even worry if I wanted to. I'm too…too happy." My gosh, that sounded cheesy.

"Oh. Yes." Karra saw realization spread over Bilbo's face. "About Fili? Yes, yes, I'm very happy for you. I'm sure…I'm sure you'll be very happy."

"Bilbo?" Karra tilted her head and the smiled faded. "What's wrong?"

"Wrong? Nothing! I was only thinking…" He fingered the edge of his blue robe. "I was only thinking…I can't imagine you would be a very good watchman in your present state of…happiness. You seemed quite lost in your thoughts when I came. You might miss something, and on a night like this, anything could happen." He gave her a slight smile. "Meaning no offense, of course. You have every right to daydream. But perhaps there might be a better place to do it than on your watch?"

"Oh!" Karra laughed. "I get it. You want to take my place."

"Well…yes." The cunning dropped from his voice, and he seemed suddenly sheepish. "I need something to…to take my thoughts off of…everything."

"Well sure, you can take my place if you want to." She shrugged, and grinned, standing from her place at the window. "Here. Go on, have at it."

"Thank you. Thank you…really."

Karra laughed, but her laugh held a questing lilt. "Really, I should be thanking you," she said. "Being the watchman isn't the most fun job in the world." She stood in the doorway for a moment. Bilbo said nothing, and she turned.

The minute she rounded the corner, she danced down the corridor, laughing, her skirt swirling around her ankles, the circlet still sitting on her head.

EEEEEEEEEEEEE YESSSS IT FINALLY HAPPENED!

Um, please forgive my momentary fangirl moment there for a moment.