Hello everyone! So had fun writing this chapter and how Thorin reacted in two separate yet very familiar situations, as well as having a huge bombshell dropped on him. There are a couple of stars attached to two paragraphs near the beginning which indicate where the soundtrack for this chapter comes in. The first star goes with "Feast of Starlight" from the DoS soundtrack and the second star goes with the "Kingsfoil" track. For those who are familiar with the tracks and once you read these two sections I think you'll see why I've added them in, they practically make my heart melt they fit so perfectly.
Anyway lots of intense stuff coming up! Looking forward to sharing it all with you soon!
I had a review which raised a valid point for me as this is the first story I've written so I feel like sharing it with you in case anyone else feels this way, and this is my response and reasoning for it (I'm not going to deliberately name names, but I feel its an important viewpoint on the story).
I would enjoy it much more if you could dial back Fili's babytalk. I've actually started reading this story several times and stopped because of that alone. You might want to consider that some readers could find it grating rather than 'pwecious'.
When I thought about this I realized that the reviewer had a fair point so this is something I wanted to share, my response being:
The reason for using it was to keep reminding everyone that Fili is very young in the story and not yet able to talk properly, but I do get your point, it can also be a pain in the a** to write. I have been drawing from my experiences with all the under-5's (mainly 2 & 3 year old's who babble consistently and can hardly string three words together, occasionally much to my annoyance lol) that my mum looks after in home based care, and after that don't have much to do with children who are over 5 and "can kinda speak but can't", so probably overdid it a little bit :)
If anyone else feels the same about Fili's talk I do apologize, it was never meant to be annoying and I probably should have thought it through a bit more :) Thank you to my reviewer for the feedback, you know who you are! :)
Once again thank you everyone for reading this, and I want to say a huge welcome to MercedesAsheSorrel, Ithilya, arianna2, Lymira, MelanthiaChase, PotterheadWhovian, ladymay03 and Wraven as well as all the other followers/favouriters! You guys rock!
Sorry for the massive Authors Note...
Thorin sat on his chair with his head resting against the wall, tapping his fingers impatiently on his leg. Oin had been in earlier to tell them that Dís was close to giving birth, but that had been hours ago, it was nearing noon and still there was no word. The stress she was causing him was driving him insane; in fact at one point he thought she might have been doing it deliberately just to infuriate him for her own amusement.
Of course that thought was sent flying out the window when a cry of pain and a steady string of dwarvish swear words floated down the hall from his sisters' room, following Dwalin in as he closed the door behind him after coming back from his smoke. Thorin had wanted nothing more than to join his friend in order to smoke away some stress, but he'd left his pipe at home and had no intention to fetch it now.
"It's getting darker out there, storms definitely on its way." Dwalin said as he tucked his pipe back in his pocket and sat on the bed.
Balin went to open his mouth when the door opened and Oin walked in. All three dwarves jumped to their feet in anticipation and nervousness.
"Well?" Dwalin demanded, noticing how tense his friend had become at his side.
Oin had been looking at the three of them with no expression, however he couldn't hold it for long and his face broke out into a huge smile.
"It's done. Dís and the baby are fine. She's exhausted, but she wants to see you." Oin said gently.
Thorin thought his legs would give way from under him, but Dwalin and Balin grabbed him by the shoulders in congratulations and to ensure he stayed standing.
"What did she have?" Thorin managed to ask in a whisper, looking like he was about ready to faint.
*Oin chuckled in response. "Like last time, she's insisted you find out for yourself. Come on you lot, yes you two as well, she said she won't have either of you waiting outside the room." He looked at Balin and Dwalin as he said this.
Thorin, Balin and Dwalin followed Oin to Dís's room. On the short walk over Thorin couldn't help but think back to when she'd given birth to Fíli.
"How is she?" He asked worriedly. His brother-in-law had already gone in to see her, and Thorin was walking with Balin and Dwalin who were just as eager to meet the new child.
"She's fine as is the baby." Oin promised in a reassuring voice.
"What did she have?" Thorin asked, nervousness creeping into his voice as they arrived at the door to her room.
"She, ah… insisted that I refrain from telling you. Said she'd prefer to see your reaction." Oin said with a chuckle, opening the door to allow the three dwarves in.
The three dwarves stepped inside and saw Dís sitting up in bed with a bundle in her arms, while she was tucked securely into her husbands' side. The pair of them had been looking fondly at the bundle in her arms, the sunlight revealing tears on their faces. Both dwarves looked up at the three newcomers with smiles on their faces, one clearly more exhausted than the other.
"Dís" Thorin said gently, pressing his lips to his sisters' forehead and looking her in the eyes in order to search for his own proof she was fine.
Dís rolled her eyes knowing exactly what her brother was looking for. "I'm fine Thorin. Would you like to meet the baby?" She asked gently.
Thorin nodded and received the small bundle from his sister. The baby had been wrapped so that the only parts that were showing were the face which was turned to the side as the baby slept and the arms that were lying on top. As Thorin went to pull the blanket down to reveal the whole of the baby's head Dís said gently "Thorin, meet Fíli, your nephew."
Thorin's face broke out into a smile; he had gained a nephew, and an heir. The blanket fell away from the baby's head to reveal a head of seemingly liquid blonde hair, and when Thorin saw the blonde he felt the air catch in his throat.
"He has Frerin's hair, and our nose." Dís said quietly looking at Thorin and Fíli with a smile on her face, her heart mourning the golden haired brother she had lost years ago.
Thorin's heart had stuttered as he looked at the dwarfling in his hands, so small and delicate and breakable. His fingers cupped the baby's head and he trailed his thumb down Fíli's face in a caress, causing the baby to stir.
Thorin was about to hand the baby back when Fíli opened his eyes. Dazzling blue shone up at him and Thorin couldn't help the feeling of love flow through him. He expected the baby to cry, but instead Fíli reached a hand out and touched Thorins' face, opening his mouth and letting out a coo, causing all the adults in the room to laugh, love thick in their voices as Thorin pressed gentle lips to his nephews forehead.
"You are loved, and you are blessed, little one."
Thorin allowed the fond memory to fade as they arrived at Dís' door, in fact it was the same one as last time which made him chuckle quietly. Oin opened the door and led the three dwarves inside. There was Dís, exactly the same as before, sitting up and holding her new born child, tears of joy on her face as she looked at the baby lovingly. The only difference this time was that she was unable to share this precious moment with her husband, just as she had last time. The thought pained Thorin, but he knew he shouldn't linger on it, especially as he'd been trying to stop her from thinking about her husband since he'd died.
Thorin stepped forward and placed his lips to his sisters' forehead, and squeezed the back of her neck gently.
"Haven't we been here before?" Dís asked with a quiet chuckle.
"Aye, we have. Much has changed since then." Thorin replied with a small smile.
Dís managed to move herself over to one side of the bed, and patted the now empty spot for Thorin to sit in. "I may not be able to have my husband by my side, but I can have my brother." She said softly.
Thorin smiled and sat on the bed next to his sister, who immediately huddled in to his side, both for comfort and warmth, "Aye, that you can, dearest sister."
*"What's done is done; I just wish he had been here to meet the baby, it is one of the few regrets I will always have." Dís said sadly, looking at the baby before pressing her lips to the newborns' forehead. She looked at Thorin with a smile, "Would you like to meet the baby?"
Thorin grinned at his sister, as painful as it was to hear her talk about her dead husband, he was glad to see that it hadn't affected her badly during the birth. But the main reason for his smile was that his sister had yet again tactfully avoided giving him any clues as to the gender of the baby. His reaction made her chuckle.
Dís re-arranged herself into a more comfortable position before handing the baby over to her brother. The baby was wrapped the same way Fíli had been so Thorin was unable to see the baby's hair, only the face and arms. It too was asleep: clearly being born took a lot of effort.
"Meet Kíli, your nephew." Dís said as Thorin pulled the blanket away. He had half expected blonde hair again, but to his surprise a head of raven black hair greeted him. He looked at Dís with tears in his eyes.
"He has your hair and nose." Thorin told his sister, his voice thick with emotion.
"Our hair and nose" Dís corrected him gently.
Thorin felt himself mimicking his actions of five years earlier with Fíli. Thorin cupped his hand to the back of his nephews head and stroked the baby's face gently. The baby carried on sleeping and Thorin looked up at Dwalin and Balin with a grin.
The brothers took this as a sign to move closer as they'd been hovering between the bed and the door, unsure of where to stand. They both moved to the bed, taking turns to plant a kiss on Dís' forehead before Dwalin moved to the opposite side of the bed to stand near Thorin.
"He looks a bit like you Thorin" Balin said with a smile as he looked at the baby.
"But not as ugly" Dwalin said in a teasing voice making them all laugh.
Their laughter woke Kíli, he began to squirm in his blankets and when he opened his eyes Thorin couldn't help his mouth falling open. Incredible liquid brown eyes stared up at him in an almost accusing manner. The baby let out a whine and looked as though he was about to start crying, so Thorin rocked him gently, making soothing noises. It had the desired effect because not only did Kíli not cry, he lifted his arms and grabbed Thorin's beard, cooing happily with one of the most adorable smiles on his face that Thorin had ever seen, it was on par with Fíli's beloved smiles.
After a good half an hour with Dís and Kíli, where Dwalin and Balin got to hold the newest member of the Durin line, they finally left Dís to get some well-deserved sleep. Thorin was the last to leave, Kíli had fallen asleep long ago, but Thorin had been unwilling to put him down. He pressed his lips to his nephews' forehead and whispered "You are loved, you are blessed, and you will always be protected little one." Thorin had said the last part in reference to his brother-in-law, for he knew that from the halls of his fathers he would always watch over his two sons, just as Thorin intended to do.
As Thorin placed Kíli in his crib, Dís watched him wearily with a small smile. "I was given the sun, and now a moon. My day and night." She said with a sigh as she allowed sleep to take her.
Thorin kissed her forehead gently before leaving the room, a smile on his face at his sisters words, for they were truer than he expected. Fíli's hair shined like the sun, and he had become the new light in the Durin family's dark tunnel after the loss of their homeland. But where there was a sun, there had to be a moon, hand in hand wherever they went. And the moon had just been born, and would bring just as much joy to their lives as his brother had. Fíli and Kíli would balance each other out, at least Thorin prayed that this would be the case, that the brothers would be close and always have each other's back.
With that thought he stepped outside to breathe in fresh, albeit stormy air to try and lessen the giddy feeling he was still experiencing after meeting Kíli for the first time.
Elrohir stepped outside for some fresh air, the smell of the tavern and being in there for what felt like hours was beginning to get to him. He'd always been like that though; he'd never really been able to cope with the confinement and smells of humans as well as his brother, Elladan just teasingly told him he was sensitive, which of course always annoyed him but unfortunately he couldn't downright deny it as his brother was probably right. As he looked to the sky he felt his mouth fall open. No wonder he'd been feeling queasy, the sun had already passed the mid-day mark. In fact from the position of the sun it was mid-afternoon now, the clouds were looking incredibly angry, and the first few droplets of rain were descending from the sky.
Elrohir opened the tavern door and hurried over to his brothers. Brother, Elrohir had to remind himself sternly, there was no guarantee that they were taking Fíli with them, and they'd already wasted most of the day away in the tavern. They couldn't even go looking for other dwarves at the moment as the weather was about to turn ugly and they needed to fetch their belongings before the storm hit. 'That and the town's slowly filtering out' he thought to himself, 'people are heading home before the storm hits, just great.'
"El" Elrohir said sitting back down next to his brother and interrupting another story that he'd been telling Fíli. They had been telling him stories all morning much to the young dwarflings delight.
Elladan looked at his brother with annoyance as he'd just walked in on a particularly good part of the tale. "Yes Roh?"
"It seems that whilst sitting here telling stories, time has decided to elude us. It's mid-afternoon and that storm is directly over the top of us. In fact it's starting to rain. If we don't get our stuff now we're going to be sorry." Elrohir said with a sigh.
Elladans mouth mimicked his brothers from earlier, dropping open in surprise. "Well there goes our plan for the day." He said, shaking his head.
"We need to go get our stuff now. Do you think the owner will let us leave Fíli in a room so we can go grab it?" Elrohir asked his brother, glancing at the owner.
"I go wif you!" Fíli piped up in protest, not at all pleased with the thought of being left behind in this strange smelling building with semi-drunk men.
Elladan sighed "we can ask but I doubt we can leave him here. He said that the room he's got for us won't be free until later; he came over just before and said and I doubt he'll want a child left on their own in here."
Fíli jumped up from his seat "I coming to!" he said sounding slightly annoyed, and before either elf could stop him he darted for the door. The elves raced after him but thankfully they didn't have to go far as he stopped outside the door with a smile on his face.
They looked at him and sighed "Alright Fíli, let's go get our stuff yeah?" Elrohir said with a smile.
The dwarfling grabbed their hands and they walked out of town the same way they had walked in.
Dwalin and Balin followed Thorin outside once he'd left Dís' room. The brothers had been just as taken with Kíli as they had been with his older brother, something precious had just made its way into the world and into their hearts, and they knew that they would give their lives to protect this bundle of innocence.
They also both had a feeling that the coming years were going to be full on with both boys, but they were looking forward to the challenge of helping to raise them through their studies. Having them as the teachers of Fíli and now Kíli had been something Thorin had insisted on from the both of them when Dís fell pregnant for the first time.
The brothers watched Thorin look at the sky for a moment before turning back to them. "It's time I head home and go and see Fíli, he'll no doubt be getting restless and missing his mother, so he'll be glad to hear that he can go see her soon. Thank you, for being here today," Thorin said placing a hand on Dwalin and Balin's shoulders "knowing that you were both here for us, I cannot thank you enough." Thorin said, finishing with a smile.
Thorin wasn't always the best at conveying his feelings or his thanks, but he knew that the two dwarves in front of him would be able to decipher what he meant regardless.
"Ye no we wouldn' leave either of you to go through this stuff alone, yer family after all." Dwalin said, clapping his own hand to Thorin's shoulder.
"Aye" Balin agreed, "we'll follow you home. We wouldn't mind visiting Fíli and seeing his reaction." Dwalin glanced at Balin briefly, glad for his brothers excuse for going home with Thorin in order to see if the little one was there, and to defuse a potentially volatile situation if he wasn't.
Thorin nodded, glad for the company for the journey home. He couldn't wait to tell Fíli that his little brother had arrived, and to introduce them for the first time.
The three dwarves made their way back to Thorin's in a short amount of time, however they were beginning to feel the first few drops of rain that announced it was almost time for the storm to hit. Balin prayed that Fíli was home, he wasn't sure how to explain why Fíli was missing if that was still the case and with the storm about ready to begin, Thorin would be almost uncontrollable in his efforts to find his nephew if he still hadn't returned.
As the three dwarves arrived at the house Balin managed to slip in front of Thorin before they reached the door and walked in first, holding it open for the other two. Normally Thorin would have gone ahead but Balin wanted to see if Fréya was anywhere to be seen so she could indicate if Fíli had arrived home or not.
As soon as Balin walked in he spotted Fréya sitting at the table staring at him, in the space of two seconds he looked at her with his eyebrows raised to which she responded with the tiniest shake of her head. Balin groaned inwardly: Fíli wasn't back.
Thorin and Dwalin didn't see any of this exchange as they walked in, but Dwalin could see the tension in the young dwarrowdam in the kitchen.
"Fréya, how's everything been going? Where's Fíli?" Thorin asked, his back to her as he deposited his coat on the hook near the door.
Fréya didn't answer; instead she looked fearfully at Balin, silently begging him to help her. She'd been trying to figure out what to say to Thorin since she'd woken and still didn't have the slightest clue, after all how do you tell your leader his nephew and heir vanished into thin air?
Thorin noticed the silence and turned back to look at her fully. "Fréya? Where is Fíli?" Thorin spoke slowly, his voice holding a firm tone.
Balin sighed, which drew Thorin's attention. "He's disappeared, Thorin. There's no easy way to say it I'm afraid."
Thorin blinked at Balin, surely this was just a bad joke, probably one of Fíli's and the lad would come jumping out any second. Several moments passed and not a word was said nor a sound was made.
"HE WHAT?!" Thorin roared when he realised that the mood was too serious for this to be a joke and they were waiting on him to say something. His roar caused the three other dwarves in the room to visibly jump, tears began to spill from Fréya's eyes and Balin placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"He's disappeared, Thorin. We've been searching for him since it happened but we haven't been able to find him."
"WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN AND WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Thorin bellowed at the dwarrowdam at the table, causing her to shrink in on herself in fear and grief.
"Thorin! Do not go blaming Fréya for something she could not control!" Balin snapped. He didn't want Thorin to say something that would become the deciding factor for Fréya to never look after Fíli again.
When Thorin looked slightly ashamed of his outburst Balin took that as his cue to continue. "He went missing yesterday after Fréya picked him up from the toyshop. When Fréya told me what had happened I went searching for him for the rest of the day, hence why I didn't return to the Healing House like I said I would. When he didn't turn up by nightfall I decided to go searching for him again this morning at first light whilst Fréya stayed here to wait and see if he'd come home, however my search was cut short this morning when Dwalin came to tell me Dís was ready to deliver. We had hoped last night that he had found somewhere warm to sleep and would be back this morning, unfortunately it seems we were wrong about him returning." Balin looked at his friend in concern, trying to read his reaction.
Thorin was shaking, both in anger and fear. Anger that no one had told him that Fíli had gone missing, and fear because of the fact that he had been missing since yesterday and anything could have happened to him.
"Tell me everything that happened." Thorin said harshly, looking at Fréya who shrunk into her chair in fear and not knowing what to say.
Thorin sighed, he wasn't angry at her, not really. He knew Balin was right that it wasn't her fault and that he shouldn't blame her. And now the kind-hearted young dwarrowdam who was always smiling at him was looking at him in fear. Thorin took a seat near Fréya and reached out and held her hand.
Using a gentler voice Thorin spoke again. "I'm sorry Fréya, I'm not angry at you I swear. This just isn't what I was expecting to hear when I came home. Please, tell me everything that happened yesterday, any emotions or words that seemed off between you picking up Fíli and noticing that he'd disappeared. Perhaps we can figure out what triggered him to run and perhaps it will lead us to him."
Fréya looked at Thorin still a little unsure. He'd frightened her but she knew she couldn't blame him really. She relaxed in Thorin's hold of her hand and took a breath.
"I arrived at the toyshop and Bofur greeted me out front. I brought a toy for the new baby then Bofur took me out back to where Fíli was working on his new toy. I told him I was taking him home and you'd be back tomorrow, or today I guess. After he finished he came out and we walked back here, we stopped off in the gardens to pick some flowers for Fíli to give to Dís when he went to see her. My friend was there and was showing me some particularly nice flowers that she said we could have for free. When I went to show Fíli he wasn't there, I thought he was playing hide and seek but we searched for almost an hour and still couldn't find him. That is when Balin found us and I told him what had happened." Fréya had been focusing on her and Thorin's clasped hands when she spoke, then looked up to see the reaction on his face.
Thorin was frowning, but he wasn't really focussing on anything as he tried to think what could have happened in that time. He looked at the dwarrowdam to see her hesitant expression. "Can you think of anything that he said or did that didn't quite fit? Please Fréya think, was there anything out of place?" He tone was gentle but insistent.
Fréya sighed and closed her eyes, running over everything that she had just told Thorin carefully. She opened her eyes slowly when a thought hit her and looked at Thorin with an unsure look. "There might be one thing," she said slowly trying to remember precisely what had happened and noticing Dwalin and Balin take a seat at the table, looking at her expectantly.
"When I went to the toyshop and saw Fíli he was all excited to show me the horse that he'd just painted. However the moment I told him I was taking him home there was almost like a pause in his expression, but it only lasted a second and then he was all smiling and happy. Then when he joined me and Bofur at the front of the shop he was suddenly sad. Bofur said something about it being because he had to leave the horse behind and I just assumed that that was what it was; now I'm not so sure."
Thorin nodded, so whatever had happened must have happened around that time.
"There was nothing else?" Balin asked gently.
Fréya shook her head "he was quiet the whole way back, so I don't think the reason for him to run happened after we left."
Thorin was nodding absentmindedly, sifting through his own thoughts of yesterday. He thought about how Fíli had been quiet on the way to the toyshop, and his surprise when he realised that that was where they were going, about Fíli talking to Bofur before waving goodbye and dashing into the shop. He thought about how Fíli had come racing back to hug him after he had called out to Fíli to say he would pick him up and…. Thorin groaned, closing his eyes and grabbing his head in horror.
"Thorin? Ev'rythin' alright?" Dwalin asked in concern.
"I think I know what caused him to run." Thorin said, his voice coming out in a groan.
"Well?" Asked Balin, trying to get him to continue after a pause.
"Fréya picked him up" Thorin said in horror at what he'd done without even realising it.
Balin, Dwalin and Fréya looked at each other confused.
"I… don't understand" Balin eventually said.
"Fréya picked him up Balin. Not me. I told him I would pick him up and I didn't."
"I still don't understand" Fréya said with a frown.
Thorin looked at her with a sad expression. "The night Fíli's father died we both promised him that we'd come back, however only I returned. After that Fíli said that his father had promised to come back but didn't, so thought that his father didn't love him. I told him that it was a promise his father had fought hard to keep but others had stopped him from doing so, and I swore to him that from that day forward I would keep every promise I made to him. I told him I would pick him up yesterday, but I didn't."
"You told him Thorin, you didn' promise" Dwalin said firmly.
"To be told something and to have a promise made is one in the same thing to a child Dwalin. If Thorin said he'd pick him up then he believed that that was what was exactly going to happen; only it didn't." Balin told his brother gently, clueing into Thorin's realisation.
Thorin had allowed his head to fall into his hands in grief whilst Balin spoke. There was only one thing that he could do, Thorin knew, and that was to go and find his nephew, apologize profusely and explain what had happened, hoping he hadn't completely destroyed Fíli's trust in him. Thorin stood up, his chair clattering to the ground.
"I'm going to go find him. I will not have him hiding when this storm hits, they terrify him and he could get hurt or sick from exposure." Thorin said as he headed to the door to put his coat back on.
"We'll come with you laddie. I'd like to know exactly where he's been hiding all this time, and now we can start asking direct questions as to where he is, means we'll get more eyes out looking for him." Balin said joining Thorin at the door with Dwalin right behind.
"I'll come too." Fréya said standing up, only to have Thorin walk back to her and place his hands on her shoulders.
"No Fréya, the storm is about to hit and I don't want you out in it where you could fall sick." Thorin said gently.
"But he ran away when I was supposed to be looking after him!" She argued back.
"It is not your fault you hear me. I need you here, he's most likely going to come running back the moment the first lightning strike hits and he'll need someone to comfort him. Please, do this for me." Thorin said gently, cupping her neck and placing his forehead against hers briefly.
Fréya was touched by the gesture as dwarves only carried out the gesture to those closest to them. She nodded, her forehead still connected to Thorin before drawing back with a smile.
"I'll go get the fire started and put some blankets near it to warm you all up when you return. Just find him." She said before heading off to the living room to start the fire.
"Alright, let's go." Thorin said looking to his two friends and heading out the door.
When they were outside they started heading down the path from the house towards the town, and Thorin looked at Balin. "Where did you look? Perhaps we should start where you haven't already searched and we might need to consider splitting up also."
Balin opened his mouth to reply when there was an urgent shout.
"THORIN!"
The dwarves turned to look towards the shout, which had come from the direction of the Healing House, and saw Bofur, Bifur and Gloin running towards them.
Thorin waited until the three dwarves had slowed down in front of them. "Bofur what's the matter?"
Bofur took a couple of deep breaths in order to talk properly. "Orcs, Thorin. The guards saw me and said that a scout spotted Orcs in the forest outside of town. They're busy gearing up and sent me to find you; I found Bifur and Gloin along the way. We went to the Healing House as that's where you were last I heard. I've told Oin and he and the healers and preparing for wounded."
Thorin groaned loudly; Fíli was missing, a storm was about to hit and now they were expecting an attack? Great. "How many?"
"It appears to be a small troop, 20-30 is the guess. He didn't hang around to get an exact count." Bofur said.
"What do yer want us ta do?" Dwalin asked with a growl.
"Will you all fight?" Thorin asked, looking around the small group. When he received nods from everyone present he carried on. "Alright, go to your houses, collect your weapons and horses and meet at the front gates. Be there in 10 minutes."
The small party dispersed and Thorin sprinted back towards the house, thankful for not being far away from it.
Thorin burst through the front doors, causing a yelp to come from the living room.
"Thorin?!" Fréya said in shock as he raced down the hall to his room to gather his weapons. He grabbed his swords and armour and took them out into the living room to put them on and talk to Fréya at the same time.
"Thorin what's going on?" The dwarrowdam asked nervously as she watched Thorin put on his armour.
"Fréya, there are Orcs outside the city, so I'm going out to join the fight. I need you to fill a bag with blankets and food and head to the Healing House. I want you there where I know you will be safe and take your family with you as well. I want you to tell your father to take his weapons with him as he will be part of the defence for the Healing House should the Orcs get into the city, and tell him it's by my order if there are any arguments with other guards. I want you and your family to help look after and protect Dís until I return." Thorin said as he finished sheathing his weapons.
Fréya looked at him with an open mouth; she had just been given the equivalent position of royal guard to the princess. She nodded and went to leave but spun back. "What of Fíli Thorin? Did you find him?"
Thorin shook his head "We didn't even get a chance to look. There is nothing we can do for him now except keep the Orcs out of the town and hope that is all it takes to keep him safe. Now go!"
Fréya nodded and the pair of them parted ways.