Hallo! It's Tuesday. I don't even have an uploading schedule anymore. Just expect chapters during the week sometime. It's just a little cray cause Beauty and the Beast rehearsals at school and such. Y'know how it goes.

Cheyanne rolled over with a contented sigh, and found herself taking in a face full of dwarf hair. Snorting, she hurriedly brushed it away and opened her eyes. She was lying very close to Thorin, so close, in fact, her chest was touching his. Thorin's eyes were still closed, and he was snoring quietly.

Cheyanne squeaked and scooted and away from him. Thorin stirred at her movement, and she quickly rolled back over so it would be like she was still sleeping.

"Chey?" His voice was drowsy, and she feigned sleepiness, rolling over to look at him, eyes squinted.

"Mmm?" She blinked a few times and forced a yawn. "What is it?"

Thorin looked at her through sleepy eyes. "It felt like you were getting up," he said.

"Why would I do that?" Cheyanne queried, giving him a grin.

Thorin returned it and sat up with a yawn. "I wonder what the time is," he said, glancing around the room.

"We'd probably know if you had a window," Cheyanne commented. She slid off of the bed and pushed her hair back, attempting to untangle it with her fingers. They merely got stuck in the brown curls, and she grumbled in frustration, pulling her hand out.

She heard Thorin chuckle. "Would you like a comb?" he questioned.

Cheyanne looked at him from over her shoulder. "Do you even have to ask?"

Thorin climbed down from the bed and crossed the room to a table. He picked up a silver comb and walked to her, holding it up. Cheyanne reached for it, but he held it up out of her grasp. She frowned. "I thought I was going to comb my hair?"

Thorin gazed at her. "Would you mind if I do it for you?" Cheyanne's frown deepened, and he let out a sigh. "My sister, Dis, she used to have me do her hair for her. She stopped asking when I-" He stopped.

"Grew to be a bore?" Cheyanne supplied with a grin. Thorin lifted one shoulder in a shrug, and she rolled her eyes. "Thorin, if you want to pretty me up, you may."

She turned around so that her back was to him. She felt Thorin place the comb in her hair, and her head was tugged backwards as he tried to pull it through. "Hmm," he commented thoughtfully.

"It's a mess," Cheyanne mumbled. "Just come out and say it."

"I wouldn't be that harsh," Thorin said, "but it is rather... Tangled." She felt the comb pulled from her hair and he started to pull apart the knots at the ends. "Might I suggest braids?"

Cheyanne didn't answer immediately. "I... I don't know how," she told him quietly.

The comb hesitated. "You cannot braid you hair?" Thorin questioned.

"No," Cheyanne answered. "I never learned." The comb started to move through the tangles again, and she paused. "Maybe... You could teach me?"

"Maybe I could just braid it for you," Thorin said softly. Cheyanne felt like reaching around and hugging him when he had finished speaking.

"I'd like that."

There was a knock on the door, and it opened inward. "Thorin?" Balin poked his head into the room. "Oh! I apologize. I didn't know I was disturbing you."

"It's alright, Balin," Thorin told him. "What is it?"

Balin stepped into the room, and he walked towards them. "We've spotted movement on the far side of Dale, coming from the west."

"Mirkwood?" Thorin didn't sound like he appreciated hearing this. "It's most likely our favorite Elf lord coming to claim his jewels."

Balin glanced at Cheyanne, and she raised an eyebrow. "Is there something else?" she asked him.

"Lord Thranduil is not alone," Balin said quietly. "He's brought with him an army of Elves, about a thousand or so, and a wagon train of food for the Lakemen."

The comb stopped again, and this time pulled from her hair completely. "What?" Thorin demanded under his breath.

"We think Thranduil has come prepared for war," Balin sighed, looking down at the floor. "It looks as though he is willing to fight for his gems."

"If he believes I am going to fall so willingly due to a battalion of a thousand elves, he has a surprise coming to him," Thorin growled.

"Thorin," Cheyanne began slowly. "It may be wise to just give Thranduil what he wants so he will leave us alone. We already have enough to handle with the Lakemen at our doorstep." She turned around and found him glaring at her. She swallowed thickly. "I mean... What if Thranduil convinces the Lakemen to fight?"

"She has a point," Balin put in gently.

Thorin shook his head. "Thranduil did not want us to reach the mountain, and so he does not deserve the jewels."

"The Lakemen gave us everything we needed, and you didn't give them what you promised in return," Cheyanne said under her breath. Thorin looked at her, eyes hard. She raised her chin. "I'm only speaking the truth. You promised Lake-town that Erebor would be sending gold their way as soon as Smaug was gone, and all you've given them is a rock wall to keep them out."

Thorin turned away and stalked off a few paces. "This treasure is ours," he muttered. "We will not let any of it leave the mountain before we find the Arkenstone."

"Thorin-" Cheyanne began, but he cut her off with a shake of his head.

"I want everyone down in the caverns to look for it," he said to Balin. "Everyone."

Balin exchanged a glance with Cheyanne before he dipped his head and hurried from the room. Thorin gave Cheyanne a look before he went into the closet. She followed him, but stood outside so she wouldn't see anything.

"Why is it so important that you find the Arkenstone?" she asked. "You needed it to bring the seven dwarf armies under your rule to kill Smaug, yes? The dragon is dead, Thorin. You don't have to do this to yourself anymore. You can give the Lakemen their gold, and start up what you had before."

"It isn't that simple, Cheyanne," Thorin told her from behind the door. "We've discussed this before - the Arkenstone is the King's Jewel; it will give me my right as a son of Durin to rule under the Mountain."

"If I recall correctly, no other king has a fancy rock that gives them power," Cheyanne pointed out. Any and all attempts she was making were failing, but she didn't want to give up. She believed that if she tried hard enough, Thorin would realize he was being ridiculous and end the search and start doing his duty as king.

He appeared from inside the closet, dressed in what he had been wearing the day before. He gave her a serious look and took her chin in his hand. "The Arkenstone is a sign of the superiority of our people," he said simply. "Without it, no one will recognize us as the true higher power."

"And it's absolutely necessary for everyone to see you that way?" Cheyanne queried.

"Yes." His tone was firm, and he was not just answering her question, but also telling her he was done talking about it.

Cheyanne decided to not respond. She realized that everything she was thinking of saying would carry on the conversation, and she did not want to make Thorin angry with her. She pulled away from him and walked towards the door, glancing over her shoulder.

Thorin was watching her walk away with a look that made her feel very uncomfortable. Nervously, she fumbled to pull open the door and she quickly scampered out of the room, her breaths coming rapidly. She hurried down a set of stairs and went to the throne hall. Cheyanne stopped to catch her breath. Thorin had been looking at her like she was a... A piece of meat he wanted to eat. Or how an alcoholic would stare at a bottle of ale or wine. It gave her the sense that Thorin believed she was his, and no one else was allowed to have her.

She didn't like the feeling at all. It made her feel... Dirty, almost.

She was trying to get rid of the disgust she felt coating herself when there were gentle hands placed on her shoulders. She let out a breath and turned to face him. Thorin was staring down at her in concern, the look from before not even remotely visible in his blue eyes.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked her quietly, raising her head so that he could look into her eyes.

"Thorin," she began, backing away from him. His eyes followed her, and she sighed. "We need to talk."

"Of course," he said immediately. "I agree. Right now, however, I need to join the others in the search for the Arkenstone. We will speak later."

He turned to walk away down a set of stairs behind the throne. Cheyanne swallowed and planted her feet. "We will speak right now," she said, forcing herself to sound firm. Thorin stopped, and Cheyanne winced when she noticed the stiffness of his shoulders. "Right now."

Thorin glanced at her from over his shoulder, all concern missing in his gaze. Cheyanne held out her arms. "Look around." This caught Thorin's attention. He turned and faced her again, and she gestured with more exuberance. "Go on, do it."

The dwarf's eyes drifted around the throne hall. "What am I looking for?" he questioned after a moment.

"Where are you?" She had a plan, and if it didn't work, she had no idea what to do.

Thorin looked at her. "Is that a trick question?" She raised an eyebrow, and he held out his arms. "I'm in Erebor. The Lonely Mountain. I'm in the throne hall, with you."

"Whose throne hall?"

"Mine?"

"The king's."

Thorin smiled. "Cheyanne, I am the king."

"Oh," Cheyanne responded with a frown. Thorin's brows furrowed, and she shrugged. "I mean… I'm confused now, because a few minutes ago you said you weren't a king without the Arkenstone, so."

Thorin's expression went from straight to confused, but only momentarily. "Maybe to others," he said after a moment, "but to those already here, I am the king."

"So, the throne room is yours, then?" Cheyanne questioned. Thorin nodded after a brief hesitation, and Cheyanne crossed her arms. "Alright."

This time, Thorin's eyebrow lifted. "Was there a point to this conversation?"

"I was just wondering why, if you're viewing yourself as king, you're not realizing that the people in Dale helped you get to this point. As king, it's only right of you to pay back the people that helped you. They deserve what you promised them," Cheyanne told him calmly.

Thorin frowned. "The gold is not theirs," he said. "It is ours."

"Wait, if it's ours, can I give mine to the Lakemen?" Cheyanne asked, tilting her head.

"Miss Baggins-"

"What?" she demanded. "If it's mine, don't I get to choose what happens to it?" She met his gaze steadily. "Unless, it's not ours? Is it yours?"

"Whatever you're trying to do is not going to work," Thorin told her. "The gold is staying in the mountain where it belongs."

He started to walk away from her, and Cheyanne looked down at the floor, finally realizing that Bilbo had been right. "The real Thorin wouldn't have done this," she muttered under her breath.

Thorin stopped dead. His shoulders tightened once again, and he turned to face her. Eyes blazing, he stormed down from the dais the throne was on and grabbed the front of her vest. "What did you say?" he demanded.

Cheyanne met his gaze, angry more than afraid. "I said the real Thorin would. Not. Have. Done. THIS!" Each word was clipped and louder than the last. Thorin glared at her for a moment longer before he released her vest and stalked away towards the throne.

Cheyanne straightened her vest and turned around sharply, prepared to leave him. She stopped when Thorin shouted at her: "Don't you dare walk away now, you miserable halfling."

Cheyanne sucked in a deep breath. Not turning to face him, she straightened her shoulders and said coldly, "I don't take orders from you. The Thorin I was willing to follow is long gone, and a stranger is standing where he should be."

Thorin stormed to her and twisted her around by the shoulders. "Look at me and say that again," he growled, leaning over her.

Cheyanne merely glared up at him. "You are a stranger!" she hissed. "A fake. You sit here, locked away in this mountain believing you are a king when you are nothing more than a greedy thief." She spat out the last word, and it left a horrible taste in her mouth.

"Do not speak to me of thievery!" Thorin shouted. "I took back what was mine!"

"Thorin Oakenshield set out to take back what was his!" Cheyanne corrected sourly. "And Thorin Oakenshield made a promise to the very people you refuse to help because you'd rather stay in here and moon over gold!" Thorin narrowed his eyes dangerously, but Cheyanne didn't look away. "You have less claim to the wealth in this mountain than Smaug did."

That was too much for Thorin. Something inside him snapped, and he threw her backwards like a piece of rubbish he didn't want to look at. "Get out of here this moment," he ordered, voice hoarse. "I can't believe I-" He shook his head, cutting himself off.

Cheyanne climbed back to her feet, but didn't leave right away. "Thorin promised Lake-town a rebirth of what their city once was, and it was his duty as king to give that to them. In return, the Lakemen gave him everything he needed in order to see that done. They had faith in him, they trusted him. But what did they receive in return? Nothing but dragon-fire and ruin."

"Get out!" His command echoed all around them.

"You are no one except you who make yourself," she murmured as a final thought. "Remember that, and decide if this is who you want to be."

She turned and walked away from him, exiting the throne hall, close to tears. What had happened to her king? What had seeped into him to turn him into such a creature of greed? It physically pained her to see him this way, and there was nothing she could do to help him. That's what hurt the most.

"Cheyanne!" She stopped walking when she heard Bilbo's voice, and she turned and let herself fall into his outstretched arms. Her cousin had seemed to know she needed him.

"You were right," she sobbed into his chest. "He's gone, Bilbo. Gone!" Bilbo held her close, and she shook her head. "Why did I think I could help him?"

"You love him," Bilbo told her softly. "You want him to be who you fell in love with, but it's… It can't be like that right now, Chey."

"I don't love him," Cheyanne muttered, tears stopping almost at once. She pulled away and wiped at her eyes fiercely. "I could never love that- that monster!" Bilbo gave her a forlorn look, and she turned away in frustration. "I don't love him. I never did, and I don't think I ever will."

"Halflings, there you are." Balin called to them from the opposite side of the main hall, where he was standing at the newly built wall. "Bard approaches the gates on horseback."

Cheyanne and Bilbo exchanged a look before they went towards the dwarf. "Is he alone?" Bilbo asked him.

Balin shook his head. "Not exactly."

Thorin appeared from another passage as Cheyanne and Bilbo waked towards the wall. Cheyanne didn't give herself a long look at him, but she could see how stony his face was. He made it to the wall before they did, and climbed up the stairs without glancing in the hobbits' direction.

Balin ushered them up the stairs to where the others were, Cheyanne's eyes widdened when they landed on Dale. "Sweet Nessa," she gasped under her breath. An army of Elves, just like Balin had said earlier, were standing among the ruins of Dale in gold plate armor. Bard rode towards the mountain on the back of a horse without an escort, but Cheyanne could see the Elves holding bows, even from the distance.

"Thranduil really wants his gems," Bilbo murmured from beside her.

The company waited in silence for Bard to reach the mountain. He pulled his mount to a halt just before the wall and gazed up at them. "Hail Thorin, son of Thrain!" he called to Thorin, who had stationed himself in the center of the company. "We are glad to see you alive beyond hope."

Thorin ignored the formality. "Why do you approached the gates of the King Under the Mountain armed for war?" he demanded.

Bard continued to look up at him calmly. "Why does the king fence himself in, like a robber in his hold?"

Thorin returned the cool gaze. "Perhaps it is because I am expecting to be robbed!" he called down to the man.

It took a lot of Cheyanne's willpower to hold her tongue, though she did allow her eyes to roll.

"We did not come to rob you," Bard told the dwarf. "We came for fair settlement." He tilted his head. "Will you not speak with me?"

Thorin dipped his head in agreement and walked down the stairs. The company hurried after him, and Bilbo glanced at Cheyanne before doing the same. Cheyanne remained where she was, gazing out towards Dale. She could see the Elf lord Thranduil astride a great elk in front of the city, watching the Mountain closely.

Cheyanne heard squawking, and she looked up just in time to see a raven fly over her head and out of Erebor, heading towards the East. She wondered where it had come from for a moment, until she heard Thorin shout, "Be gone! Ere our arrows fly!"

Cheyanne leaned over the wall and watched Bard climbed onto his horse angrily and ride away towards Dale once more. She then turned and gazed down at the company. "Someone knock one of the stones off of the wall. We need to destroy the walkway to the gates," Thorin ordered.

Cheyanne let out a breath and walked down the stairs as Dwalin, Fili and Kili went up them, holding a long pole. The ground trembled as she reached the lower floor, and she glanced through a hole in the wall. The stone they had loosened had crashed through the pathway leading over a body of water to the mountain.

She turned away from the hole and leaned against the wall heavily. "This is only going to get worse," she sighed, closing her eyes.

"Come on, Chey!" Fili called to her as he hurried back down the stairs and hopped into the battle line the dwarves had formed. "We're prepping for war!"

The dwarves started to march away, and Cheyanne glanced up at Bilbo, whom had walked over to her. She lifted her fist half-heartedly and grunted, "Huzzah?"

"Huzzah," Bilbo agreed with a shake of his head. The hobbits then went after the dwarves, following them towards the armory. As the dwarves dived in to put on their army, Cheyanne and Bilbo remained outside. She watched Fili help Kili into a chest plate of mail, and she shook her head.

"There's no way to stop them, is there?" Bilbo didn't answer, and she let out a sigh. "I wish Gandalf were here. Maybe he'd be able to do something about this." The wizard had been saving her from bad decisions most her life. She didn't know how dead she'd if the wizard hadn't stuck his nose into her business when she was younger.

"You aren't the only one that wants Gandalf back," said Bilbo with a sigh of his own.

"Master Baggins!" Thorin stood in front of the armory, dark against the golden light within. Cheyanne stiffened and hid her face in Bilbo's shoulder. "Come here."

Bilbo patted her on the head and approached the dwarf cautiously. Cheyanne watched them from where she stood, nervous. "I have a gift for you," Thorin said to her cousin. He reached into the armory and pulled out a shirt made of steel links. He held it out to the hobbit. "Put it on."

Bilbo slowly began to remove his coat and vest as Thorin held up the shirt. "This coat is made of silver steel. Mithril, it was called by my forebears." Bilbo took the shirt and slid it over himself. "No blade can pierce it."

Her cousin gazed down at himself for a brief moment. "I look ridiculous," he said. "I'm not a warrior, I'm a hobbit."

"It's a gift," Thorin told him. "A token of our friendship." Cheyanne sighed and bowed her head. "True friends are hard to come by here." She glanced up and saw Thorin look over his shoulder towards the armory. "I have been blind, but now I begin to see," he started, grabbing Bilbo and pulling him away from the armory and closer to where Cheyanne had hid herself in the shadows. "The Arkenstone…" Cheyanne held her breath. "One of them has taken it. One of them is false."

She sighed in relief, but knew it was awful. How could Thorin think such a thing?

Bilbo didn't look happy to hearing this, either. "Thorin, the quest is fulfilled," he said slowly. "You've won the mountain. Is that not enough?"

Thorin made no signs of having heard him. "To be betrayed by my own kin…"

"You gave a promise to the people of Lake-town," Bilbo said, more forceful this time. "Is treasure truly worth more than your honor? Our honor, Thorin. I was also there, I gave my word."

"For that, I am grateful," Thorin told him. "It was nobly done. But the treasure in this mountain does not belong to the people of Lake-town. This gold is ours, and I will not part with a single coin. Not one piece of it."

Cheyanne flinched when she heard his voice. He sounded exactly like Smaug did. She froze when Thorin gazed past Bilbo towards where she was standing in the shadows. The blue fire that had risen in his eyes died, and he bowed his head. "Miss Baggins, come here please."

She hesitated. After how they had finished their last conversation, she didn't know if she wanted to do as he asked. Did she truly want to get closer to him, especially with the way he had sounded just then?

Thorin sighed. "Please. I'm not angry with you."

Cheyanne slowly walked over to him, terrified. Thorin silently reached forward and took a section of her hair in his hands. Within a few moments, he had braided it and fastened it at the end. Cheyanne lifted the braid, her eyes widening when she noticed the bead on the end. It was silver and had tiny rubies the same color of her vest embedded into it.

She let the braid drop, and it bounced against her shoulder as she shifted her eyes up to Thorin's. "I said I would braid it for you," he said quietly with a small smile that was also visible in his eyes. "Do you like the cuff? I… Found it. With the treasure. The rubies made me think of your vest."

Cheyanne felt her heart start to swell, but she forced it back down to normal size. You're angry at him, remember? "It's very nice," she said stiffly, turning away.

"Cheyanne, please… I didn't want to act the way I did before," Thorin told her softly. "I don't know what happened. Forgive me."

She forced herself to look at him. His head was bowed, and he looked sincerely sorry. She let out a breath. There was no way for her to stay angry with him. It was impossible. Silently, she moved closer and hugged him around the waist, pressing her face into his chest.

Thorin breathed out in relief and wrapped strong arms around her. She didn't get the sense of possessiveness that she had gotten before from him, and Cheyanne allowed herself to relax in his hold. "Don't… Don't act like that again," she told him quietly but firmly.

Thorin chuckled. "I won't. I promise."

Can I trust you to keep that promise?

She released him, but he didn't let her go far. "Tonight, we will all get a good night's rest," Thorin said to the dwarves. "Until then, we must prepare. Everyone will train together until their skills are honed to their best, for tomorrow, we fight to keep what we have earned!"

The dwarves cheered heartily in agreement, several banging the ends of their weapon's handles on the floor. Thorin looked down at Cheyanne. "I must go train with the others," he said to her. "I will see you training soon as well, yes?"

She nodded silently, and Thorin held her hand for a moment longer before he went off with the others, leaving her and Bilbo alone outside of the armory. She waited until all sound from the dwarves was gone before she turned to her cousin. "What are we going to do? We can't let them fight!"

"I know," Bilbo answered immediately, gazing towards the stairs the dwarves had gone down. His eyebrows were furrowed, and he was deep in thought. "What if… No, it wouldn't work. Never mind."

"Bilbo, if there's any possibility of it working, I want to hear about it," Cheyanne told him sternly. "Tell me."

Bilbo pursed his lips. "What if… What if I gave the Arkenstone to Thranduil and Bard?" he asked quietly. "They could use it for bargaining, and maybe trade it for what Thorin owes each of them." Cheyanne immediately opened her mouth to disagree, but Bilbo help up his hands. "Just, think about it for a moment. Thorin wants the Arkenstone more than anything right now, doesn't he? Don't you think he would be willing to trade some gold and Thranduil's gems for the very thing he believes will give him power?"

"Maybe," Cheyanne allowed, "but what's going to happen to you when he realizes you gave it to them?"

Bilbo looked down at the floor. "I don't think anything will happen to me," he told her after a moment. Cheyanne furrowed her eyebrows, and he looked at her with a grin. "I'll take the Arkenstone as my fourteenth share of the treasure."

The way I figure, usually in FanFictions, the heroine is suddenly gifted with the inborn skill to wield a weapon. Cheyanne is not going to be like that; she's gonna train to figure out how to do it.

Cause I'm not one of those writers.

I'll see y'all sometime next week? I guess.