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 let out a frustrated exclamation and slammed the book of Dwarven history that was resting on the table in front of her closed.

"Why are there so many famous Dwarves?" she demanded of Balin, who was quietly sitting in a different armchair than she was, reading a book of his own. His was about birds, which Kamathi didn't think was anymore an interesting topic than the one she was currently studying, but nonetheless, Balin's eyes were shining.

"When I die," he began after she'd glowered at him for a moment, "I'm going to come back as one of these." He turned the book around to show her what he was talking about, and Kamathi frowned at the picture of the raven he was pointing to. "Otherwise, I've been wrong my whole life, and chose the wrong tattoo."

"What are you talking about?" Kamathi asked tiredly, and Balin set his book down before standing and turning around, pulling down the back of the shirt he was wearing. Indeed, over one of his shoulder blades was a tattoo of a raven in flight.

Kamathi peered at it for a moment, and then she huffed and glared down at her own book. "Why are you acting weird?"

Balin chuckled. "I'm one of the oldest Dwarves in Erebor," he said, picking up his book of birds again. "It's my job."

Kamathi rolled her eyes, continuing to glare at her book. "Why are there so many famous Dwarves?" she asked again, a bit more quietly than before.

"Because Dwarven history is long and tedious," Balin responded with a yawn. "There's been a lot that's happened, and different Dwarves are involved with each new event." He pointed to the book she'd been reading. "That only goes back to about three hundred years ago."

Kamathi groaned and slid down in the armchair she was seated in, covering her face with her hands.

"You know," Balin went on, amused, "your mother had the same reaction when she was given the task of learning the entirety of Dwarven history. You know what I told her?"

"What?" Kamathi questioned from behind her hands.

"I told her to memorize the most important things, and forget everything else," Balin responded, and then he laughed.

Kamathi didn't bother laughing along. Instead, she lowered her hands, and opened her book again. "What're the important things?" she mumbled, and Balin set his own book down to direct her to the correct pages.

Before Kamathi could start reading about the Dwarven kings and their magic rings, however, both her mother and father came into the library, flanked by their nephews, her cousins Fili and Kili.

Out of respect, Balin stood and bowed to them. Kamathi remained where she was, not noticing when Thorin and Cheyanne exchanged a glance.

"Kamathi," Thorin began.

"Hmm?"

"Your cousins have something to show you," the king told her.

At this, Kamathi glanced up from her book, and raised an eyebrow at her two cousins, who were both grinning. "What?" she asked warily.

"We know it's your birthday tomorrow…" Kili began.

"... and we wanted to give you your present early," Fili finished.

Kamathi glanced from one to the other. "Is it a present I actually want?" she asked after a moment, and the brothers grinned at her in sync. "Stop doing that! It's terrifying."

"I don't know, Kee. Do you think she wants this present?" Fili asked his brother.

"I think she wants this present," Kili replied with a shrug. "But… if she's too scared…"

"I am not scared," Kamathi said immediately. She stood up, and crossed her arms, eyeing her cousins critically. "What is it?"

They exchanged another glance, and then looked at her parents, as though asking permission. Thorin rolled his eyes while Cheyanne nodded encouragingly, gesturing.

They turned back to her, and Fili pulled a strap off of his shoulder, which was attached to a scabbard that Kamathi hadn't noticed he was carrying. He took the scabbard in his hands, and then he bowed to her, holding it out.

Kamathi took it from him, admiring the leather. She then glanced up from it to her cousins, who were beaming again, and then at her parents. Cheyanne was wringing her hands, but she nodded again. Thorin winked, and put his hand over her mother's.

Kamathi looked back down at the scabbard, and took hold of the leather wrapped hilt that was sticking out of one end. In a swift motion, she pulled out the weapon it was attached to, dropping the scabbard as the weight of the sword she was now holding called for all her strength.

Kamathi's heart sped up as she examined the weapon. It was a sword, most definitely, but even she could tell that it was shorter than the average weapon that the Dwarves use. It was made of a white steel that she couldn't name, and the blade was curved inwards on both sides. The hilt itself was wrapped in a dark leather that needed to be handled a lot more before it would soften. The guard was lined with sparkling sapphires.

"It's beautiful," she whispered after a moment, looking up at her cousins.

"We had it forged once Thorin told us that you needed to start your training," Fili told her.

"We used Bilbo's sword as inspiration," Kili added.

Looking back down at her weapon, Kamathi could definitely see the resemblance between it and Bilbo's Sting. Of course, this one had a distinct Dwarven craftsmanship to it, while Sting had most definitely been forged by Elves.

"Thank you," she said, smiling softly. "I'll put it to good use."

"I hope so," Thorin said as she bent down to retrieve the scabbard, "but not quite yet."

Kamathi frowned, and looked at her father in confusion. "But… I thought -"

"The sword is still much too big for you," Thorin said, cutting her off. "You won't be able to put it to real use until you've grown a bit more. However… your cousins were eager."

"Don't worry, Kamathi," Fili began cheerfully. "I'm going to teach you everything you need to know about handling a blade."

"And, if you like, I'll teach you some archery, too," Kili offered. "Every prince or princess should be well rounded in all weaponry, after all."

Kamathi turned her gaze back down to her sword, and smiled at her reflection in the blade, before she nodded and slid the weapon away into the scabbard once more. "I think that's a good idea," she agreed, turning her grin to her cousins.

"But you won't be learning from just these two," Cheyanne put in, stepping forward between her nephews. She gave them both looks, and then turned to her daughter. "Dwalin said he'd teach you, too, when he has time."

Kamathi nodded agreeably, and then she looked at her father, hopefully. Thorin pretended he didn't see her, and he reached for the scabbard. Her expression fell, and she handed him her sword.

"I'll put this somewhere safe, until you are big enough to handle it," he promised her, sliding the strap over his shoulder.

Cheyanne reached out and placed her hand against the back of Kamathi's neck, tilting her head forward until she could kiss the top of it. "Supper tonight with Bilbo," she reminded her, and Kamathi nodded again.

With that, Cheyanne slid her hand through the crook of Thorin's elbow, and the king and queen exited the library together.

Fili crouched down next to the book that was sitting on top of the table. "Ooh, Dwarven history," he said with a sharp inhale. "That's no fun."

"No," Kamathi mumbled, "it really isn't."

Fili glanced first at Kili, who nodded excitedly, and then at Balin, who offered him a benign smile and a wave of his hand, a wave that said Do whatever you want.

He then turned a grin on his young cousin, who raised an eyebrow at him. "What now?"

"What do you say we get out of here?" Fili suggested, gesturing towards the doors of the library with his head.

Kamathi's eyes widened, and she glanced at Balin, who had his eyes closed, and his hands resting on his chest. "But… I shouldn't," she said, looking down at the book.

"Why not?"

"Balin's sitting right there," Kamathi reminded Kili, pointing to the old Dwarf.

"I believe the point of 'sneaking away' is reduced considerably when you point out that you are doing so to the one you are sneaking away from," Balin said, eyes still closed.

Kamathi frowned for a moment as she processed this, and then her eyes brightened when she realized that Balin was saying he didn't care if she left. So, giggling, she pressed her finger to her lips, and dramatically waved her hand for her cousins to follow her out of the library.

The three of them did so, laughing, and Balin smiled to himself as he opened one eye and watched them go.

Fili took the lead after they'd escaped the library, and he led Kili and Kamathi down the corridor to the first set of stairs they could find. They started down them without zero hesitation.

"Where are we going?" Kamathi asked him, trailing behind Kili.

"I thought we could get your training started immediately," Fili responded without looking back. He was taking the steps two at a time, and from the noises behind him, he thought Kili was, too. Kamathi, however, had short legs, still, and was scurrying down the stairs as quickly as she could without stumbling.

They finally made it down to the level where the armory and the training areas for Erebor's army and guard were, and Fili led the way past the groups that were doing drills and training individually or in pairs. Kamathi glanced around at them all, awestruck.

She'd seen the Dwarven guards around the mountain, of course. Wherever she went, and wherever her parents were, at least three were posted, sometimes following them, or sometimes outside of the room where they were. Dwalin was her mother's personal guard, and he was with her at all times.

However, on occasion, Kamathi would be left without guards watching her every move, usually when she was with Balin, or someone else her parents trusted implicitly. The guards that had been outside the library had not followed her and her cousins, so she assumed they were on her parents' safety list as well.

Fili finally stopped in a more secluded area of the large room, near a rack of wooden weapons. Kamathi eyed them.

"Wood?" she finally asked, looking at Fili, who was pulling weapons off of the rack and weighing them in his hands.

"Everyone starts out with wood," Kili explained, taking the sword that Fili handed to him. He walked across the mat that was laid over the stone floor to prevent injuries from rough falls, and held it out to her. "Just to prevent cuts and things of the like."

"Only the best warriors use steel in the training room," Fili added, turning back around with two other swords in his hands. "Since you've never touched a weapon in your life... this is the smartest choice."

Kamathi gazed at the wooden sword Kili was trying to give her for a moment, and then she took it. "I have touched a weapon," she said. "Just now, remember?"

Fili rolled his eyes while Kili chuckled.

"You haven't wielded a weapon, then," the blond Dwarf amended. "Better?"

"Yes," Kamathi replied, sounding pleased. "So…" She adjusted her grip on the wood sword about four different times before finding something that actually felt comfortable. "Where do we start?"

"Well, usually you start by holding it right," Kili replied with a wide grin.

Kamathi frowned. "There's a right way to hold it?" she demanded, looking down at her grip. "I just thought you held it in the way that felt the best."

"After a while, the right way does feel the best," Fili responded. He took a step forward and moved her fingers around a bit, and then nodded to himself after examining their positioning. "That's the right grip."

Kamathi was still frowning, more from pain this time. "This hurts."

"The sword weighs a bit," Fili pointed out. "You just need to work up your strength, and it won't bother you as much." He adjusted her grip again. "Don't squeeze it so hard."

"But I'll drop it," Kamathi argued, her arm lowering dangerously without the extra grip.

"It's part of your arm," Fili told her. "You can't drop part of your arm."

Kamathi narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you talking about?"

Fili exchanged a look with Kili, who offered his brother a shrug and crossed his arms to watch.

Fili turned his gaze back to Kamathi. "You'll get it eventually," he told her. He then took several steps back. "Now… try to hit me."

Kamathi's frown deepened. "You want me to hit you?"

"I want you to try to hit me," Fili corrected, smiling. "Go on." He turned away from her, to walk away a bit further, but before he could get very far, Kamathi let out a yell and charged him. Fili easily stepped away from this, and Kamathi shot right past him to the other end of the mat, stumbling a bit from lack of impact.

Fili turned to face her, holding out his sword, and Kamathi gazed at his position for a moment before mimicking it to the best of her abilities.

She then took several swings at him, putting two hands around the hilt of her sword as she did so. Fili fended off all of them, and then spun away from her when she tried a heavy downwards blow. Kamathi fell to the ground with a grunt. Fili turned to face her, and tapped the mat with the edge of his sword as a silent command for her to get back up.

Kamathi struggled to her feet, holding the sword with two hands, and Fili shook his head at her. She rolled her eyes, but all the same went back to using one hand instead. She let out another yell as he turned away from her again, and Fili reached back with his sword to block her attack before swinging around to look at her and fending off even more badly placed swings.

He knocked her sword from her hand, and Kamathi bent down to retrieve it, but before she could, Fili picked it up for himself. He gestured with his head for her to follow him, and he led her back to the center of the mat. Kamathi walked around until she was facing him again, and Fili tossed the sword to her.

Kamathi caught it with a gasp, and Fili smiled approvingly. Kamathi grinned back, and settled into the position he'd shown her before.

She jumped at him, but he swung his sword around and tapped at her leg. "Dead," he said.

Kamathi grinned again, and took a different swing instead. She moved the sword away from her body, and Fili let his sail into her belly. "Dead!" he stated, giving her a look.

Kamathi glanced down at his sword, and then up at him, before bringing up her own and trying again. Fili easily knocked it away and Kamathi lunged forward. Fili grabbed her wrist with his free hand, and brought his sword up until it was pointed directly at her face.

"Very dead," he informed her, and Kamathi let out a breathy laugh.

"Again," Fili said, letting go of her wrist and backing away. Kamathi tried something she hadn't done already, but Fili grabbed her arm and spun her around several times until their swords clacked together. He glanced sideways at them, and then down at her.

"No," he said, stepping away from her.

"I don't know what I'm doing!" she exclaimed.

"That's why we're here," Fili reminded her. "We're training."

"And this is training? Me swinging at you, but you not telling me what I'm doing wrong?"

Fili raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you repeating any of the things that you already tried once?" he queried.

Kamathi opened her mouth to retort, and then her eyebrows drew together, and her mouth closed. "No."

"See?" Fili nodded to her. "You're learning without me telling you anything."

Kamathi eyed him, and then she looked at Kili, who was watching this exchange with a small smile. "Who trained the two of you?" she asked him.

"Balin," Kili answered, "along with some others."

"Did my father?"

Kili looked at Fili before responding. "He was there once or twice," he said after a moment.

Kamathi let her arm droop until the tip of her sword hit the mat. "Why doesn't he want to train me?"

Another glance was exchanged between her cousins, and then Fili gestured for her to sit, which he did himself. Kamathi sat as well, and looked from one to the other as Kili came over to join them.

"Is he scared or something?" she asked, and Fili shook his head.

"I don't think that's the biggest reason, no, but…" He trailed off, and looked at Kili for help.

"Our father didn't help to train us, either," Kili said.

"Your father?" Kamathi's eyes lit up with interest. "No one ever talks about him."

Fili smiled lightly. "For good reason," he told her. "Vili, our father, he died a long time ago."

"I don't think I was any older than you are now," Kili put in, nudging Kamathi's knee with the tip of his sword.

"Oh." Kamathi looked crestfallen. "That's why he didn't help to train you, then."

"You could say that," Fili answered. "But… think of it this way. By having us teach you, it's almost like your father is teaching you, right?"

Kamathi didn't look convinced.

"We're teaching you what he taught us," Kili explained. "So, really, you're just learning what he knows, from a different source."

"But what if I want to learn from him?" Kamathi asked drearily, and her cousins looked at one another.

"Well," Fili started, "you could always ask."

Kamathi's head shot up, and she shook it roughly. "No!"

"Why not?" Kili queried.

"Because he'd… look at me funny," Kamathi replied, lowering her voice. "You know?"

They did, both of them.

"That might be the only way he'll consider it, kid," Fili told her. "I don't think he'll decide to do it all on his own."

Kamathi sighed, but she knew he was right. If she wanted to learn from her father, she'd have to say so, and face whatever response he offered her.

Later that evening, at supper in the dining hall closest to the apartment, Kamathi was sitting down to an early birthday dinner with her parents and Bilbo. Bilbo was busy chatting to her mother about something that had happened between him and Gandalf earlier on in the day, and Cheyanne was responding with the appropriate sympathetic noises, a skill she'd picked up over the years of listening to people complain to her.

Since her mother and her uncle were distracted, Kamathi turned to her father, who was sitting at the head of the table, to her right.

"' adad?" she started, and he looked up from the report he'd brought to the table, about the envoy he'd sent to Mirkwood.

"Yes, kurkarukê?"

"I… I wanted to ask you something," she said, glancing downwards to her nearly empty plate.

"Anything," Thorin replied, setting aside his report. "What do you need?"

Kamathi continued to stare down at her plate, and Thorin waited, knowing that she liked to take her time when it came to asking for something.

"I… I want you to help train me," Kamathi finally said, softly.

Thorin gazed at her, and she gazed at her plate. After a moment, he leaned back in his chair. "Why? Do you not want to learn from your cousins?"

"No, I do," Kamathi said quickly, looking up, "but… I want to learn from you, too."

Thorin was silent for a time, and Kamathi waited as patiently as she was able, her leg bouncing beneath the table. She watched her father's face, searching for any sign of his decision, but Thorin was giving away nothing.

Finally, however, he looked at her again, and smiled a bit. "If I ever find the time to attend one of your training sessions, I will come down and join in, all right?"

Kamathi gazed at him, not entirely sure if he meant it. Instead of pressing further, because she knew that wouldn't get her anywhere, she merely nodded and returned her attention to her plate.

Thorin returned his own to his report after another moment.

When the meal had been finished, and Bilbo had wished Kamathi a happy birthday, and all three of them a good night, the royal family retired to their apartment. Kamathi gave both her parents kisses, and she disappeared into her bedchamber.

Thorin gazed at the door after it closed for a minute or two while Cheyanne tossed another log into the fire that was already going in the parlor's fireplace. When she turned around and touched his shoulder, Thorin glanced down at her instead.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

"Kamathi asked me to help train her," Thorin replied with a shake of his head. He led the way into their own bedchamber, and Cheyanne followed him in confusion, closing the door behind her.

"And… this is a bad thing?" she queried, watching as he crossed the room to their attached closet.

"No, of course not," Thorin answered, disappearing into it. "I just wish I actually had the time to train her."

"Oh." Cheyanne understood, now. "You don't want to agree to it because you don't think you'll ever have the time, and that you'll let her down."

Thorin reemerged from the closet, dressed down considerably, and he nodded. "Exactly."

Cheyanne smiled and crossed the room to get to where he paused in front of their wash basin, gazing at himself in the looking glass attached to the wall over it. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her forehead against his back.

"I don't think you could ever let our daughter down, Thorin," she told him. "She understands that you're busy."

"I'm sure she does, but… it bothers me that I can't be as involved in her life as I want to be," Thorin said quietly. "I want to be there for her, whenever she needs me to be, but I can't, all because I have an entire mountain to look out for as well."

He exhaled, and looked down at the resting water in the basin. "When she was born, I swore to myself that I would not do what my father did, which was leave me and my siblings to nurses and our closest relatives while he was busy with his princely duties. I thought that maybe I could avoid it, but…"

"But it's different, because you're the king, not a prince," Cheyanne finished for him. "Thorin, Kamathi knows that you have a lot to do, each day. She knows that you give her as much of your time as you possibly can, and I promise you that she knows that you will help train her, if you can."

Thorin glanced upwards, and he turned around so that he could face her. She smiled up at him, and leaned up on her toes in order to kiss him, gently.

"You're doing the best you can," she told him, settling back down. "Kamathi and I both know it, so don't you worry."

Thorin wished he was reassured by Cheyanne's words, but something inside him kept it from happening. He didn't necessarily think that he was being a bad father; after all, he was spending as much time with Kamathi as he could, whether it be personal or otherwise.

He just wished that he could spend more personal time with her, and with Cheyanne, too.

He'd always known that being King Under the Mountain would alter the amount of time he was able to use for himself, and he'd swore that it wouldn't lead to any problems.

It seemed that, no matter how hard he tried, there was always going to be some reason that he couldn't give Kamathi what she wanted.

"I'm going to go see her," he said to Cheyanne, who had walked away towards their bed. She nodded to him, and Thorin exited the bedchamber, leaving the door open.

He crossed the parlor to the door leading into Kamathi's room, and he knocked on it. After a moment, Kamathi's voice could be heard through it: "Come in."

Thorin opened the door, and found Kamathi seated on her bed, legs crossed. She had the compass Balin had given her open and resting on one of her knees. A big book lay open on her lap.

"Hi," she said, glancing up at Thorin, who smiled back, closing the door behind him.

"What are you doing?" he asked her, crossing the room to her bed.

"Balin left this book for me," she explained, sliding over so that he could sit beside her. Thorin did so, and watched as she pointed to the page she had the book open to, which happened to be a drawing of Middle-earth. "I was trying to figure out how far away the Shire is from here."

"Well…" Thorin took the book and moved it so that it lay across both their laps instead. "It's rather far. You'd have to go through Mirkwood, and then cross the Misty Mountains, before coming even close."

"Right," Kamathi sighed, glancing at her compass. "The map in there made it seem a lot closer than it actually is."

Thorin looked at his daughter. Her hair was beginning to fall out of its braid, and a few strands dangled in her eyes. He reached over and tucked one behind her ear, which drew her attention to him.

"I'm sorry about earlier, during dinner," he said.

"Don't be," Kamathi responded, frowning. "It's not your fault; you have a lot of things to do. I shouldn't have asked, and made you feel guilty."

"I should feel guilty," Thorin decided, moving the book off to the side so that he could turn to face her. "I am your father, after all; I should want to train you more than anything else."

Kamathi's frown deepened. "Do you not want to?" she asked him, and Thorin immediately shook his head.

"No, of course I do," he said, and then he let out a breath. "I suppose what I said came out the wrong way. I do want to help train you, very much."

"But you don't have time," Kamathi concluded. "I know that; we already talked about it." She tilted her head, reminding him of himself. "Why are we talking about it again?"

Thorin glanced downwards. "I don't know," he admitted, and Kamathi laughed. He chuckled as well, and looked at her. "I suppose I wanted to make sure that you weren't angry with me."

"I'm not," Kamathi told him, and then she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "I know you want to spend time with me and Mama, but you can't because you have so much else to do. It's all right, really."

Thorin returned the hug, closing his eyes. "Thank you, kurkarukê," he murmured. "I'm glad you understand."

"I might as well," Kamathi said, pulling out of the hug. "I'll be in your position one day, right?"

Thorin smiled at her, tucking another loose strand of hair behind her other ear. "Exactly." He placed a kiss on her forehead. "Time for bed."

Kamathi allowed him to take her compass and book, and she crawled beneath the blanket as he placed them on the table beside the bed. He then turned around to face her again, and crouched down so that he was at her level.

"Sleep well, Kamathi," he said, softly, and then blew out the candle on the table.

He stood up, and started to move away from the bed, towards the door. As he neared it, Kamathi spoke from behind him, bringing him to a pause: "'adad." He turned around, and saw Kamathi smile at him. "Amralizu."

"I love you, too," Thorin replied, smiling back. "Get some sleep."

Kamathi rolled over away from him, and Thorin stepped out of her bedchamber, closing the door softly behind him.

I may not be able to spend all my time with her, he thought to himself, heading for his own chamber, but at the very least she knows I try as hard as I can.

Translations:

kurkarukê - 'little raven'

Amralizu - 'I love you'

The training scene was inspired by Arya's training lesson with Syrio Forel in the first season of Game of Thrones.