The author of this FanFiction owns no storylines or characters that belong to the original creator of The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings.

"Kamathi!" Cheyanne poked her head into the nursery, and exhaled in frustration when she saw that her daughter was not in the room. She moved away from it and closed the door again, glancing around the parlor. "Where is she?"

"Still haven't found her?" Dwalin asked, finally catching up with the Queen, who'd gone running to the apartment when she realized that Kamathi was not where she was supposed to be.

"No," Cheyanne sighed, covering her face with both hands. "I don't know where she could be."

"No need t' panic," Dwalin said, stepping forward with his hands held out. "I'm sure she's with someone. We just need to find out who."

Cheyanne inhaled shakily, and managed a nod before lowering her hands. "You're right," she said. "It's fine. She's fine."

"Good." Dwalin glanced around the parlor. "I'll go see if I can find Bilbo. Maybe he knows where she is."

Before he could do that, however, the door to the apartment opened, and Kamathi came skipping into the room, humming.

Cheyanne released a relieved gasp, and she hurried towards her daughter, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her into a tight hug.

"Ouch," Kamathi complained, feeling suffocated. "Mama, let me go!"

Cheyanne let her out of the hug, but she kept her hands on her shoulders. "Where have you been?" she exclaimed. "You were supposed to be in the library with Dis!"

"I was," Kamathi told her. "Then 'adad came and found me, and told me you wanted to see me."

Cheyanne stared at her. "Why didn't you stay in the library and wait for me?"

"'adad said you were up here," Kamathi said, shrugging out of her grasp. "Why are you being strange?"

"You scared me," Cheyanne replied, more angrily than she meant to. "You shouldn't ever be by yourself! How many times must we tell you?"

"I wasn't by myself!" Kamathi retorted, crossing her arms.

"She wasn't." Cheyanne lifted her gaze from her daughter's annoyed expression and found Thorin entering the apartment, a look similar to one of pity on his own face. He placed a hand on Kamathi's shoulder and tilted his head at Cheyanne. "I would not leave her alone, bunanunê. I took her to see Fili and Kili for a few minutes, because she asked."

Cheyanne let out a breath, and glanced down at Kamathi. "Kamathi, I'm… I'm sorry," she said, softly. "I should not have yelled."

"It's all you ever do," Kamathi muttered, pulling away from her father and hurrying towards the nursery.

Cheyanne's shoulders fell, and she bowed her head in defeat. Thorin stepped forward and slid his arm around her waist.

"I'm a terrible mother," she murmured.

"No," Thorin responded immediately.

"I need to stop… worrying so much," Cheyanne insisted. "It's… it's only pushing her away, because she cannot know why I worry."

Thorin pressed a kiss against her head, and then he glanced at Dwalin, who nodded and headed out of the apartment. He passed Balin as he went. The older Dwarf raised an eyebrow in curiosity, and Dwalin lifted his shoulders.

Balin stopped in front of the apartment door, and listened to the muffled murmuring coming from inside for a moment. It seemed that Cheyanne had overreacted once again.

Sighing, Balin knocked, once, and then opened the door so that he could step into the apartment.

Thorin had moved Cheyanne to the sofa, and he glanced up when Balin entered. Without saying anything, he looked towards the nursery. Balin nodded in understanding, and crossed the room to get to it.

He rapped on the door, gently, and then he opened it. Kamathi was seated in the middle of the room, legs crossed and her chin in her hand. She glanced up when Balin poked his head into the room, in the exact same manner Thorin had. Balin couldn't help but smile at the similarity.

"Everything all right?" he queried, stepping fully into the room, and closing the door behind him.

"Why does she always get mad?" Kamathi asked him, her voice breaking.

Balin exhaled, and walked over to where she sat. He settled down in front of her, and reached forward to take her hands.

"Your mother has very good reasons for worrying about you," he told her. "I know that you want to know what those reasons are, but all I can tell you is that they are not taken lightly by anyone, and by your mother least of all. She wants nothing more than to know you are safe at all times, and when she doesn't know, she worries."

"But she doesn't have to yell," Kamathi said, a tear running down her cheek.

"I know, and so does she," Balin replied quietly. He reached up, and brushed the tear away. "Cheyanne loves you very much. Her anger comes from her relief of knowing that you are perfectly fine."

"Could you tell her to stop it?" Kamathi asked, wiping at her nose.

Balin chuckled. "I'll do my best. Ah, I almost forgot." He reached into the pocket on the coat he wore, and pulled out her present. "Happy birthday, young one."

Kamathi took the present from him, and held it up so that she could look at it better. From what she could tell, it was only a metal lump.

"What is it?" she finally asked.

Balin smiled, and gestured to a small button on the side of it. "Push that," he suggested.

Kamathi did so. The lid, of what she now saw was a compass, popped open, revealing the glass face of the compass itself. The arrow lay on top of a small painted image of a map of Middle-earth, the corresponding directional letters marking the proper places. Currently, the arrow was facing east, towards the Lonely Mountain and what lay beyond it.

Kamathi gazed down at the gift for a moment longer, and then she looked up at Balin, who was still smiling.

"For your sense of adventure," he said. "And so that when you can finally explore, you'll never get lost."

"Thank you, Balin," Kamathi said, quietly. "It's very pretty."

"I'm glad you like it," the old Dwarf responded. He then tried to climb to his feet, but could not, and Kamathi quickly rose herself and pulled him up with her. Balin laughed as his joints creaked and groaned from the strain. "Oh, I'm getting old."

Kamathi giggled, and she glanced down at the compass again, turning it to see if the arrow would follow. It did.

"Middle-earth looks like this?" she questioned, looking at Balin.

He nodded. "Have you not seen pictures of maps in the books in the library?" he asked.

"I don't read those books," Kamathi said with an impatient roll of her eyes. "I read stories."

"Oh, I see," Balin replied, amused. "Well, perhaps if you read more than stories, you'd know that Middle-earth is shaped like that, and you'd know all the places you may get to visit one day, when you are Queen Under the Mountain."

Kamathi's shoulders slumped. "I'll be too busy ruling to travel," she grumbled. Sliding the compass into the pocket on the dress she wore, she moved across the room to the large floor to ceiling window, and pushed it open. Immediately, a rush of fresh air sailed into the room, and Kamathi smiled against it.

"There's so much out there," she said, gesturing to the open fields below her, and to the mountains in the distance. "But… I won't ever be able to see it."

"Why do you think that?" Balin questioned, watching as she leaned against the wall.

"Because my mother is never going to let me leave the mountain," Kamathi responded dryly. "Since she worries so much."

Balin walked towards her, and glanced out the window for himself. He could understand the child's need to leave, seeing this view every day and not being able to experience it for herself. No doubt she wanted to run through those fields, to scale those mountains. And, no doubt, she couldn't see either happening in the near future, because of how protective Cheyanne was of her.

"There are other ways to travel," Balin told her.

Immediately, Kamathi look over at him in surprise. "What do you mean?" she asked, a line appearing between her eyes.

Balin blinked at her, and then realized what he had said, and decided that he needed to tread carefully. "What do you think I mean?" he questioned, hoping he sounded as casual as he wanted to.

Kamathi's eyes narrowed. "Balin…"

"You know what you can do."

Kamathi looked down. "I don't know where I go, but…" She nodded, almost imperceptibly. "I know."

"Who else knows?" Balin asked her, deciding that it was best if he knew everything, so that he would not accidentally tell someone who was not meant to know.

"'adad, and Gandalf," Kamathi responded. "I tried to tell Bilbo a few times, but he doesn't like it."

"So your mother does not," Balin concluded, exhaling.

"No." Kamathi's shoulders rose and fell. "'adad said that if we told her, she'd only worry more."

Balin chuckled. "She would," he admitted. "Most definitely."

"You're not going to tell her, are you?" Kamathi asked, glancing up at him, and Balin shook his head.

"No," he said. "She won't hear it from me, I promise." He peered at her. "Are you being careful?"

"What do you mean?" Kamathi asked, frowning again.

"Do you… close whatever it is that opens?" Balin questioned.

She nodded. "If I left them open, someone might find it, and then I might get in trouble."

Or… worse.

Balin sighed in relief. "That's good. You make sure you always close them, all right?"

"Sure," Kamathi replied with a shrug. "How do you know about them?"

"Gandalf… may have mentioned it to me, once," Balin responded.

"Why?"

"I don't know," Balin admitted. "Perhaps he thought I'd be easier to talk to about it."

Kamathi rolled her eyes again. "He just doesn't want to say that he doesn't know anything about it himself."

Balin struggled to keep a straight face. "Possibly." He then thought about it for a moment longer, and then he looked at her. "Kamathi, if you ever do need to speak with someone about it, you may speak with me. Your father and Gandalf are perhaps a bit biased on the subject, but I am an impartial figure." He smiled warmly. "Please, don't hesitate to come to me."

"Thank you," Kamathi said, sounding relieved. "'adad doesn't like to talk about it, and Gandalf talks about it too much." She smiled gratefully at him. "I think you'll be much nicer to talk to than either of them."

Balin nodded. "Of course, Princess. Now." He gestured towards the closed nursery door. "Perhaps we should go see your parents."

Kamathi sighed to herself. "Do we have to?"

"I think so," Balin replied. "After all, we need to discuss this evening."

Kamathi blinked as she followed him towards the door. "What?" she queried.

Balin paused with his hand on the handle, and looked over at her again. "Surely you remember," he said. "Your presentation to everyone? It happens to every future ruler when they reach a certain age during childhood."

Immediately, her shoulders slumped. "Oh, right," she mumbled. "The 'I'm Going to Rule You Someday' thing." She groaned. "I don't want to do that."

"You have to, I'm afraid," Balin replied. "It isn't as though you speak the whole time. You just put on a nice dress, and stand there while your father addresses the Dwarves, and say what you've been practicing with for the past week."

Kamathi peered up at him. "It's a lot easier with no one else in the throne hall."

Balin smiled, and placed an affectionate hand on her head. "It won't take long," he told her. "And afterwards, I will take you to the library and show you some of my favorite books."

"The map ones?" Kamathi asked, sounding bored already.

Balin chuckled and moved his hand back to the door handle. "Believe it or not, I can enjoy a good story now and then as well," he said, pulling the door open.

Cheyanne and Thorin were still seated on the sofa. Cheyanne looked over at them when the door opened, and her gaze softened a bit.

"Kamathi," she began, holding out her hand to her daughter.

Kamathi walked over to her, and Cheyanne gently took her hands. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, sweet melody," she said. "You are very important to me, and when I do not know where you are, it scares me." She reached up and placed her free hand on Kamathi's cheek. "I'll try to stop getting so frustrated, I promise."

Kamathi offered her mother a smile. "It's all right, Mama," she replied. "It's fine that you worry; you just need to stop worrying so much."

Cheyanne laughed, and pulled her daughter into a hug. "Ooh," she whispered, holding her close. "I love you very much."

"Love you too," Kamathi said, burying her face in Cheyanne's shoulder. "Mama?"

"Yes, my love?"

"Do I have to go to the speech thing?"

Cheyanne looked at Thorin from over Kamathi's head, and her husband gave her a smile in an I told you so sort of way.

"Yes, Kamathi," she said with a roll of her eyes at Thorin. "You have to go."

Kamathi groaned against her shoulder. "Can't we do it next year?"

"Are you going to be seven next year?"

Kamathi was silent for a moment as she thought about it. "For a little while," she said at last, and Balin let out an amused snort from where he stood by the nursery.

Cheyanne smiled to herself and let Kamathi out of her grasp. She tapped her on the nose. "Chin up," she instructed. "It will last no longer than fifteen minutes, I promise."

"And then Balin can take me back to the library?" Kamathi asked hopefully, her eyes glittering.

Cheyanne's smile faded a bit, and she looked first at Balin, and then at Thorin, who nodded slightly.

Sighing silently, Cheyanne turned back to Kamathi, and managed to put her smile back on her face. "Sure, but only for a little while."

Thus, with the promise of library time with Balin, Kamathi was glad to put on the dress that had been made for the presentation event. It was reminiscent of the dress she had worn during her introduction to Earth, but of course, she didn't remember much of that, and therefore, didn't know of the similarities between the two purple dresses.

Cheyanne, who took on the task of wrangling Kamathi's hair into a braid for her, completed it with only about five minutes to spare before they had to be down in the throne hall, and she stepped back from her daughter, eyeing the braid critically.

"Well," she said after a moment's thought. "I definitely shouldn't be allowed to do hair."

"Mama," Kamathi complained, turning her head so that she could see the braid herself. Cheyanne had never learned how to braid, and so she'd spent the years she'd been married to Thorin trying to perfect the art. Obviously, doing two small, simple braids he wore within his hair was a task she was more suited for.

Kamathi sighed and undid the braid, reaching up behind her head in order to do it for herself. Cheyanne watched, wondering if braiding hair was a gift all Dwarves were born with, half Hobbit or not.

Kamathi finished the braid in record time, managing to pull it into a tightly weaved four-strand thing that Cheyanne would never be able to do, no matter how long she practiced.

Still, she smiled to herself when Kamathi stood and turned to face her. "Beautiful, sweet melody," she told her.

Kamathi, however, already looked tired. "Only fifteen minutes, right?" she asked through a yawn, and Cheyanne chuckled, stepping forward to slip her arm around her daughter's shoulder.

"Of course," she assured, and then she led Kamathi back out into the parlor of the apartment.

Thorin was waiting for them, dressed up for the event as well, the heavy crown resting on top of his head. Cheyanne blinked when she noticed it, and reached up to feel for her own crown.

"Crud," she muttered under her breath, and quickly parted for her own bedchamber to retrieve it.

Kamathi watched her go, eyebrows drawn, and she glanced at her father in confusion. "What's 'crud'?" she questioned.

"Just… something they say in the Shire, when they're upset about something," Thorin replied as quickly as he could.

"Oh." Kamathi wasn't convinced.

Cheyanne reemerged, delicately placing her crown atop her head, and she let out a relieved breath, shoulders falling. "All right," she said to her family. "I think we all look wonderful. Let's get this done."

Thorin and Kamathi exchanged a glance, but nonetheless, they both nodded in response to Cheyanne's statement, and together, the royal family made their way out of their apartment and down to the throne room.

They took the long way around, so that they would start at the bottom of the long set of stairs that led up to the throne itself, the way that they'd practiced for about a week already.

Balin was at the foot of the stairs waiting for them, and Kamathi could hear the excited murmuring coming from inside the throne hall, where countless Dwarves waited.

She looked up at her parents. Thorin looked like he was about to step in front of someone he was completely comfortable talking to, and convince them of something ridiculous. Her mother, however, was shifting her weight from one foot to the other, something Kamathi unconsciously did as well when she saw Cheyanne do it. Despite having been Queen Under the Mountain for quite some time, Cheyanne was still nervous about speaking to so many people at once.

Kamathi exhaled, and straightened her shoulders in a similar manner to the way Cheyanne had done so before, in the apartment. If she was going to be queen herself, she best get used to speaking to this many people on a regular basis.

It shouldn't be too difficult. She just needed to imagine she was only speaking with one person, someone she knew and trusted, like her father did. Like Balin had suggested she do, when he'd been advising her on this the day before, during one of their 'mandatory' conversations.

That was what her mother called them, anyhow.

Kamathi, however, liked talking with Balin. The old Dwarf knew a lot, and he didn't mind telling her about anything she was curious on. However, she hadn't realized how little she herself knew about Balin and what he knew until their earlier conversation, in her bedchamber. She needed to learn more from him.

"Are you ready?" Balin asked, looking at all three of them.

Thorin nodded. "Hopefully this will be painless," he said, smiling a bit.

Balin patted him on the shoulder, and then bowed slightly to Cheyanne, before he turned to Kamathi.

"Trust me," he began, his eyes twinkling. "This won't take as long as you think it will."

Kamathi decided that she did trust him, and so she dipped her head in agreement, and then turned to face the stairs.

Balin winked at Thorin and Cheyanne, and then headed up the stairs ahead of the royal family, grunting a bit from the effort of climbing. As he entered the throne hall, the sound of music began from inside, and Cheyanne nudged Kamathi with her hand, urging her forward.

"Go on," she whispered. "We're right behind you."

Kamathi stumbled over her dress, but she managed to regain her balance before reaching the first step, which she mounted with as much grace as she was able. As soon as she entered the throne hall, she was met by a chorus of cheers, which turned into a song as she glanced from side to side, looking out at all the Dwarves that were attending her presentation.

There were a lot of them, and they lined both sides of the walkway and the stairs leading up to the throne. All of them were singing the song that had been sung during presentations of royalty Under the Mountain for centuries. The music coming from the big drums and horns closer to the throne, paired with the Khuzdul lyrics of the song made her heart swell, and Kamathi lifted her chin with a grin, more confident than ever.

She reached the throne just ahead of her parents, who had been right behind her, as Cheyanne had said they would be, and all three of them turned around to face the gathered Dwarves just as the last note was hit on the drums, the last note was blown on horns, and the last note was sung by the Dwarves.

They then burst into more cheering, and Kamathi set her shoulders once more. She felt comfortable standing before her people in this manner, no doubt because of the royal blood she had flowing within her. She imagined that the countless Kings Under the Mountain that had stood in the place where she stood now, before the throne, between her parents, had all felt just as comfortable as she did.

Still, however, she couldn't stop herself from using her forefinger to twist the ring she wore around her thumb in anticipation and the slightest bit of nervousness.

Thorin stepped forward slightly, a sign he was about to speak, and the Dwarves went quiet almost at once.

"Dwarves of Erebor!" His voice echoed proudly throughout the throne hall chamber, and Kamathi smiled to herself. It sounded really neat.

Thorin stepped back again, and gestured towards her. "My daughter, and your Princess Under the Mountain."

Kamathi grinned widely, and lifted her hand in a greeting.

The Dwarves cheered again. She let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

Thorin turned back to the gathering, and continued, "As you all know, it is a tradition for the next King, or, as the case may be, the next Queen Under the Mountain to be presented at three separate times in their lives. Once when they are nothing more than a babe, again when they are a child, and one last time, when they reach a mature age. Since Kamathi is aging a bit differently than Dwarves do, we have decided that the mature age she will be presented at is eight-and-ten-years."

He looked to Cheyanne. "Your queen and I have decided that Kamathi has reached the appropriate childhood age during which she should be presented again, and we are doing so now."

Cheyanne stepped forward, now. "Your princess has been studying the art of being a ruler, including all that comes with leading an army, sitting in council meetings, and listening in on court sessions. She still has a long way to go, but her future as Queen Under the Mountain looks very promising."

Thorin looked at Kamathi, who was waiting patiently for her turn to speak. "Princess, do you have anything you wish to say to the Dwarves of Erebor, who you will one day rule, like the Kings Under the Mountain who came before you?"

Kamathi took her own step forward, and looked out at everyone. For a moment, her breathing hitched dangerously, when she actually allowed herself to see all the eyes of the Dwarves standing before and below her, but then she picked out a familiar face in the crowd.

Balin nodded to her, encouragingly, and Kamathi's breathing returned to normal. She began: "I promise to all the Dwarves of Erebor that I will learn to rule with the same wisdom, courage, and fairness that all the Kings Under the Mountain before me have ruled with. I will take my place as queen when my times comes, and I will lead the way, with you all to guide me."

Almost at once, the loudest cheer of all burst from the crowd, and Kamathi exhaled in relief, stepping back again. Cheyanne reached out and took her hand, squeezing it.

"So proud," she said just loud enough for Kamathi to hear.

Kamathi smiled to herself, and looked out over the Dwarves. They were all relying on her to become the best ruler she could be. She knew that she couldn't let them down.

But, even as she let their cheers and the music that had begun again float over her and through her, she couldn't ignore the tiny voice inside of her, the voice that was still urging her to look for adventure beyond Erebor.

She knew that she couldn't have both. And she couldn't even pretend that she could have both for much longer.

After all, she had just promised an entire kingdom that she was ready and willing to rule them when the time came. She couldn't allow her heart to be divided down the middle with love for her people, and love for the adventure that she hadn't even had the chance to experience yet.

So, with slowly growing despair, she thought the same word her mother had said out loud, to express her frustration.

Crud.

I dunno if I've translated it before, so bunanunê means 'tiny treasure'.