They all entered the mountain slowly. For many, this was the first time. They had grown into adulthood on stories of this mountain. For others, it was a long awaited and hardly hoped for homecoming. The old described once more, in hushed tones, to the young what the great gates had looked like, before they had been destroyed by the beast. Others stood in silence, once more mourning those who had fallen. All rejoiced. Their mountain was theirs once more. As they entered, they stopped, staring in shock.
The floor of the Hall of Kings, a great room of tall pillars and wondrous tapestries, was covered in gold. The pillars were also flecked with the precious metal, but the floor of the hall was the most beautiful thing. One dwarf in particular stared at the gold. The moment he saw it, he knew what he would see in the next area. His feet dragging, he walked slowly into the the hall where once there had been a tower of stone.
For where once had been a tower of stone there now was but a pile of rubble, covered in gold. The dwarf dropped to his knees and wept. He wept as he not wept in over one hundred years. It was gone. And there would be no replacing it. His father had worked on this for years. Years and years he had labored over this, his most daring and most ambitious project. And now... It was gone. His father's life's work was gone. It was gone In piles of stone and a floor of gold. A hand on his shoulder woke him from his tear-filled daze. He looked around into the eyes of his daughter. And an older dwarf he barely recognized.
'Balin?' He asked, unsure; it had been so very long since he had seen him.
'Yes, laddie.' Answered the white bearded dwarf, 'There is something I must tell you.'
Nodding mutely, he rose to his feet and followed Balin to the feet of where the statue would have been.
'This is where I stood' the older dwarf began, looking up toward the vaulted ceiling, 'This is where I stood when it came apart. When I saw what it would have been. It was perfect.' And that was all the Balin said before turning and walking away.
'Perfect' he whispered. It had been perfect. He turned to his daughter and all he could do was smile. Gone, but not forgotten.
Well, that is the end of that! I have been sitting on this since I saw DoS for the 3rd time. Usually try to stay on book verse, but this was too good to pass up. I must say that the second chapter was rather depressing to write... I did not remember more of the quotes form the movie or I would have used them... I fear that this may have been a bit too descriptive. Perhaps you will tell me, dear readers! I hope you enjoyed it, thank you for reading.