'You cannot be serious! Why are you trusting her?' Bard exclaimed and glanced furiously at Morsha. 'She and her warriors killed my people!'

Thorin looked at Dwalin and could see the same expression of mistrust towards Morsha on his friends face. Before he could say anything Morsha stepped in.

'We are at war, lord Bard. Your people would have died anyway and I have ordered my warriors to not kill anyone of the people of Dale. As you remember it were my warriors who took the city. In your hastly escape you have not witnessed that we have spared your peoples live. They are still within the city and hopefully they will support our fight against the armies of Sauron.' Morsha told him quietly.

'They are still alive?' Bard whispered. He took a deep breath and looked at Morsha determinately. 'What is your plan?'

'My warriors will secure Dale and fight from there. Serjas warriors will turn against the Easterlings once the battle has started. And we will have to charge the Easterlings outside of the mountain. They will have to fight on all sides. This is the only chance we have to defeat them.' Morsha explained.

'Sounds good. If you will excuse me, I have troops to make ready.' Dwalin grumbled and left the royal chambers, deliberatly cutting the dark elven guards.

'Leave us.' Thorin commanded to the remaining people and looked at Morsha. Everyone left, but Senka and Ariel.

'I will not leave, husband.' Ariel sneered. 'I have the right to know what you speak with this...lover of yours.'

'You have forfeit your right to know about my business, wife.' Thorin growled. 'Now leave, I won´t repeat myself.'

Ariel shot him and Morsha a death glare and slowly walked out the room. The moment the door closed Senka ran over to her mother and fell into her arms. Morsha had not expected this and it took a few moments till her arms closed around her daughter. Thorin watched his love and their daughter and his heart wrenched in pain. This was what he threw away decades ago. A happy life with a family. His family. But maybe there was still hope.

Senka parted from her mother. 'I will leave you two alone, you have things to sort out.' With a look between her parents she left, closing the door behind her silently.

'You have done well. She is an incredible person.' Thorin murmured and watched Morsha flinch.

'I have never been a good mother to her. I could not love her and I treated her harder and more merciless than others because she was my daughter. She had a better life here in Erebor.' Morsha stated quietly and turned her back on Thorin. 'Thank you for taking care of her.' she pressed out and Thorin could see how hard it was on her to thank him.

'She is our daughter, Morsha.' he whispered. 'I should have been there from the start.' as she turned around with a furious expression on her face he held up his hands. 'I made a mistake, I wasn´t myself as I banished you out of my life. I have never forgiven myself and I have brought pain to so many lives with my weakness. But maybe if I had known...'

'If you had known what?' Morsha clenched her teeth. 'That I was carrying your child? Would you not have banished me then? Would you have come to my home to look for me yourself? Would you not have married that...dwarf woman? What then, Thorin?'

Thorin flinched at the hurt in her voice. He sighed heavily. The past half century had been hard for both of them and both had things to heavily regret.

'There is no turning back, Thorin. For both of us.' Morsha said sadly, guessing his intent. 'I have done things that I can never repay. I killed Oins son as he came for me. I have felt a hatred that destroyed everything between us. I have even hated our daughter for a long time because she reminded me of you. I will never be able to repay my dues. I have given in my feelings of hate as you have given in to Durins curse.'

Thorin knew exactly how she felt and he understood that she could not allow herself to be happy. She had caused alot of pain and death in her wrath for him and nothing could excuse cold blooded murder. But he did not want to accept the hard truth.

'So thats it?' he asked. 'We will live our lives apart from each other although in each others reachs?'

'You have a queen, Thorin.' Morsha smiled sadly. 'And I am a murderer who killed an innocent messenger of your kingdom. You should not even think of me in any other way.'

With these words she wanted to leave the room, but Thorin grabbed her arm and held her back.
'I will always think of you as the woman I love. As the woman I have hurt so badly that her loving, gentle and wonderful character was turned into a wrath I have utterly deserved. I have caused all of this pain, me alone. And as for my queen - ' he sighed and let go of her arm. 'Thats an argument.' he stated dryly.

Morsha looked at him in astonishment. She was so surprised that she did not realise that she was grinning. As Thorin looked at her and smiled she realised that old feelings she had long forgotten were rising inside of her. But she could not allow that. She looked down at her feet and sighed.

'Me and my warriors will return to our camp. We have things to prepare.' with a sad look at Thorin Morsha left the royal chambers and went for her warriors who were waiting in one of the great halls.

As the dark elves had gone, Fili and Kili entered their uncles chamber and found him staring into the fire.

'Uncle.' Fili aproached him first. 'What happens now?'

Thorin sighed. He felt old and tired. 'I do not know, Fili. We will fight everyone who tries to overrun our home thats for sure.'

'We actually meant with Morsha and...you?' Kili asked impatiently and got a nudge of his brother.

Thorin smiled at his nephews. 'Too much has happened. On both sides. There is no turning back, for either of us.'

Fili nodded, but Kili did not want to accept his uncles words. 'You love each other, uncle. She is here and she fights to save us from Mordor. Both of you have done wrong, but don´t punish yourselves forever.'

Fili and Thorin looked at Kili in surprise. Kili had always been the carefree and easy dwarf out of the Durins and hearing him say such things made Thorin smile. His nephew had grown up.

'I cannot give in to my feelings, Kili. I am married. And as for her wrongs...how shall I forgive the murder of Oins son?'

'She was not herself. Oin has forgiven her, he is helping her and her warriors gather medical supplies in this very moment.' Kili continued. 'And as for Ariel...she never gave you children and she is a horrible person...Ow! What? Its true!' he pouted as Fili gave him another nudge. 'You two have already lost half your lives. Have you seen her hair? She is mortal now, uncle. She has given up her immortality for you. You two deserve another chance!'

In the meantime Ariel was pacing in her room fuming with anger. The affront against her was incredible. The kings ex lover was an elf! Even more a dark elf, a warrior, a murderer. And an incredible beauty. Ariel hated her, with all her heart. And more she hated Senka. Thorins child of love with this...woman. The queen of Erebor walked to her dress box and opened it. She had brought some things with her from the Blue Mountains, amongst others a small dagger. She turned it around in her hands, musing. She was ready to become a murderer herself if it could help her regain her position within this mountain.

Meanwhile Morsha lay in her quarter in Dale staring to the Lonely Mountain and remembered her last nights in Thorins arms, although there had not been many as soon as they had reached Erebor.

The night when Senka was conceived was no happy night. Morsha had tried to keep Thorin away from the treasury and had diverted him with his lust for her. But it only had lasted a few moments. When Morsha had seen the gleam in Thorins eyes, a gleam full of lust for the gold she had blocked the door with her body. She had caught his gaze and slowly began to undress. As her dress had hit the floor Thorins attention was all on her. She gently pushed him towards their bed and sat down on his lap. Thorin had not touched her until they had reached the bed and his formerly warm and passionate hands now touched her coldly and rough. Morsha took a deep breath as he flipped her over on the matress, pressing her into it as he lay down above her. Morsha looked up into his cold eyes as he undressed and spread her legs. Without warning he pushed himself into her, causing her to cry out in surprise and pain. As he began to move and thrust in and out of her Morsha felt tears in her eyes and pressed her eyes shut to prevent them from falling. But one tear managed to roll down her cheek. Thorin had looked down at the woman laying underneath him and his gaze had softened. He had touched her softly, caressing her skin and kissing her neck. His moves became more gentle and Morsha began to feel more at ease, even though it was far from pleasure. Thorin began mumbling words in Khuzdul as he pumped into her more and more forcefully and groaned against her neck as he came. Morsha only held him tight against her and prayed that he would stay with her for the night. As he rolled off her and started to dress again she held him back.

'Please stay with me, Thorin.' she begged. 'Its so cold here and I need you beside me.' she tried to smile, but his frown scared her.

'I will just be away for a short while, Morsha.' he grumbled. 'You´ll manage.' With these words he left their chambers and Morsha fell back on the bed, tears now falling freely.

In Dale, Morsha now looked at the Lonely Mountain, feelings of grief, pain and regret torturing her.

'Why don´t you stay with him?`she heard Serja ask her from the door. Her friend had sneaked in to see if Morsha was alright, for she worried deeply about her.

'I can´t.' Morsha sighed. 'I can´t look him in the eye anymore. Neither him nor the other dwarves. I cannot bear what I have become.'

'What have you become?' Serja asked.

'A murderer. A bitter woman who has given in into her hate and destroyed everything. I am no better than Thorin was back then as he banished me.' Morsha stated bitterly.

'Thorin is a murderer. He killed you sixty years ago.' at Morshas frown Serja continued. 'The real Morsha has long gone. I have seen her last as she rode for Rivendell. The elf who came back was somebody else. Something else. My friend has died long ago.'

Serja smiled sadly. She understood her friends dilemma, but she could not watch her torture herself.

'There is no future for me here, Serja.' Morsha stated sadly. 'Not with Thorin.'

'Maybe not. Maybe the battle against the Easterlings will end our future altogether.' Serja stated dryly. 'That is why you have to solve things. Sort things out while you still have the chance.'

With her friends words in her head Morsha stood up and took a dark hood. One with the shadows she made for Erebors secret door at the side of the mountain.