GTA V on my PC is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

Well, one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Skyrim on my PC is another one.

And Thorin.

Cheyanne awoke before Thorin, and she didn't wake him this time. The longer he slept, the less time there was for a battle to begin. She crept from the bed and hurried out of the room, gently closing the door behind her.

"Cheyanne!" Bilbo hissed at her from the shadows at the end of the walkway, and she scurried forward to talk with him.

"Did you do it?"

He nodded. "Yes. Gandalf is with them, Chey! He's in Dale!"

"What's he doing down there?" Cheyanne demanded, remembering her dream. "He should be up here with the rest of the company!"

Bilbo looked downwards. "Gandalf doesn't think there is a company anymore," he said quietly. "He told me to go home, before Thorin discovered what I had done."

Cheyanne bit her lip. Gandalf wasn't wrong; he never was. She reached forward and took Bilbo's face in her hands. "Listen, if things start to go bad, I want you to run."

"Cheyanne-"

"Don't 'Cheyanne' me, cousin," she said sharply, cutting him off. "I'm telling you to run if Thorin starts to get angry. Do you understand me?"

Bilbo stared at her with a look that clearly said he thought she was being ridiculous, but he sighed. "I won't just leave without trying first, Chey," he said quietly. "I couldn't."She let out a breath and dropped her hands. Bilbo lifted his own and lifted her head. "If things start to get ugly, I'll do my best to leave. Is that enough for you?"

She closed her eyes. "I want things to go back to how they were before Mirkwood," she told him. "Everything was just fine in Beorn's house; what changed, Bilbo?"

Her cousin shook his head. "I don't know," he sighed, "but we won't let them fight without a fight of our own." He pressed his forehead against hers, eyes trained on the ground. "If Thorin doesn't agree to a trade, I don't-"

He cut off as the door to Thorin's room began to open. Quickly, he stepped away from her and ducked into a side passage.

Cheyanne turned to face Thorin. He was gazing at her in worry, and when he reached her, he took her face in his hands. "What's wrong?"

Cheyanne frowned. "Nothing? I'm fine." She gave him a look. "What, just because I get up means something is wrong?"

Thorin stared at her a moment longer before he slowly lowered his hands, releasing her face. "I'm sorry, 'ibin," he sighed. "You worried me, that's all."

"I'm here," she assured him, "and I'm alright. Well, aside for the fact that we're about to go to war."

"Not war," Thorin corrected. "Just a short battle to remind the rabble on our doorstep who the higher power is in these lands."

"Even though the higher power is thirteen dwarves?"

"Yes," Thorin answered. "If we show them they will not best us, perhaps they will realize it is a waste of time."

"Or perhaps they will see how stubborn you are."

Thorin chuckled. Cheyanne forced a grin as well; she hadn't been joking. "You shouldn't think that way, Cheyanne," he told her, beginning to walk by. "Don't underestimate us dwarves; we always have a backup plan in case the original fails."

She hurried after him, and tugged on his arm. "Why?" Thorin stopped and looked at her in confusion. "Why are you doing this? Look at yourself, Thorin. Is this really what Thorin Oakenshield would have chosen to do to handle the situation?"

Thorin let out a breath and met her eyes. "Cheyanne, I understand that you want me to still be Thorin Oakenshield, but I can't. Not anymore. I'm King Under the Mountain, and I have to act as a King Under the Mountain would," he told her gently.

Cheyanne glared at him. "Why does that King have to be your grandfather?"

Thorin's eyes immediately hardened when she said this, and he pulled his arm from her hand. "Do not speak to me about this right now," he growled. "We have an army of Elves to deal with."

He stalked away from her without another word, and Cheyanne stomped her foot angrily. "Stubborn dwarf," she muttered under her breath when he was out of earshot.

Bilbo stepped timidly out of the shadows and joined her, gazing down the passage. "Well," he began, "that was useless."

"Thanks for pointing that out, coz," Cheyanne said in annoyance. "I wouldn't have realized it otherwise."

Bilbo remained quiet for a long moment before he silently took her hand in his. "I'm not going to let him do this to us, Chey," he told her, and strange tone of firmness in his voice. "Thorin must realize there is too much at stake for him to be this foolish."

"I don't think that matters to him," Cheyanne responded with a sad shake of her head. "He... He's set on keeping his gold. That's all he cares about now."

"I know you don't believe that," Bilbo whispered.

"What else can I think, Bilbo?" she asked. "There's nothing else that matters to him. You were the first one to realize it, and I was stupid for thinking I could stop him."

Bilbo rested his chin against the top of her head. "Cheyanne? I know you told me that you didn't love him, but I don't believe that," he said gently. Cheyanne started to protest, but he went on over her voice. "I've... I've been watching you two the whole journey, and... It's impossible for me to think you don't feel something for him."

Cheyanne shook her head and pulled away from him. "Stop, Bilbo. Please. You're not making this any easier for me."

"See, you know it," Bilbo exclaimed. "I told you."

"Stop." Cheyanne backed away from him even further, refusing to hear him. It was only making this worse. "Just stop. I can't talk about this right now. We need to go."

"Cheyanne-"

She turned and walked away from him down the passage. What did Bilbo think he was doing? Didn't he realize it was awful to be talking about this, especially right now? She didn't want to think about everything she had felt for Thorin along the journey when she didn't have any idea what would be happening to him that day. She didn't... She didn't want to consider the fact that Bilbo might be right.

She slowly stopped walking and allowed herself to sink to the floor. She drew her knees to her chest and put her head down on her arms. This was not something she wanted to be thinking about, especially right now. Cheyanne could barely think straight as it was; Bilbo had only brought up thoughts that were making it worse.

She lifted her head when she heard footsteps and found Fili approaching her slowly. "Chey, what's the matter?" he asked her, eyebrows drawing together. She shook her head, and Fili sighed. He squatted down before her and lifted her head with his hand. "I understand if you don't want to talk about it, but I can't just leave you here with tears in your eyes."

Cheyanne looked away. "I can't do this," she whispered. "I can't see you all risk your lives for a stupid treasure!"

"Chey, listen to me very carefully," Fili said, turning her head back in his direction. "I am not fighting for a treasure. I'm fighting for this mountain, for my home. All of us are."

"The Elves and the Lakemen aren't trying to take your mountain," Cheyanne told him. "So why are you fighting?" She knew by his face that he didn't have an answer, and she met his gaze. "Don't tell me that you aren't fighting for a treasure when the people you're fighting against are."

Cheyanne stood up and walked away from the dwarf. She was aware that he followed her, but kept his distance, and did not try to speak with her again. She appreciated it, but she also felt bad. She didn't want there to be sourness between them, especially right then, but she didn't know what to say to him.

She reached the entrance hall where the wall was, and found the dwarves standing around the bottom of the steps, waiting uneasily. They murmured amongst themselves as she walked by, and Dwalin went so far as to reach out and touch her arm. She shook her head and pulled away from him, not wanting to hear anything that he wanted to say about why they were doing this.

Thorin appeared from down a passage, his face hard but otherwise expressionless. Silently, he walked up the stairs to the top of the wall. The dwarves all followed in a single file line and stepped up next to their king at the wall. Cheyanne placed herself at the end, and let out a breath when she saw what was waiting for them.

The army of Elves Thranduil had brought was lined up in front of the broken walkway of Erebor, and they all were holding bows in their hands. They parted down the middle as one as Bard and Thranduil rode to the front lines. Thorin suddenly pulled a bow of his own out of nowhere and shot it at the feet of Thranduil's elk. The Elf and the man looked up in surprise, and Thorin pulled another arrow back in the string.

"I will put the next one between your eyes," he told them.

The dwarves on the wall cheered, and Cheyanne let out a pained breath.

There was a moment while the dwarves quieted, and then Thranduil lifted his hand. Immediately, the Elves behind him lifted their bows and pulled arrows back in the strings, all as one. He dropped his hand slowly, and they slid the arrows away and returned to their original positions. Thranduil looked up at Thorin and said, "We've come to tell you that payment of your debt has been offered, and accepted."

She glanced down the line of dwarves towards Thorin. His eyes gave away his confusion for a brief second before they hardened again. "What payment?" he demanded. "I have given you nothing. You have nothing."

Bard and Thranduil exchanged a glance before Bard looked back up at the company. "We have this," he said, reaching into his coat. He withdrew his hand, and Cheyanne's breath caught in her throat when she saw what he had. The Arkenstone was just how she'd seen it in Bilbo's hand, crystal clear and glimmering like a star.

She pulled her eyes away from the Arkenstone in Bard's fingers and looked at Thorin. His shock was plain on his face, and Kili's was even more noticeable. "They have the Arkenstone," he gasped. "Thieves! How came you by the gem of our house? That stone belongs to the king!"

Bard shrugged. "The king may have it," he said, and he tossed the stone into the air, "on our good will." He caught it and put it back into his jacket. "But first, he must honor his word."

Cheyanne saw Thorin's face go through a series of emotions before it returned to its original form. "They are taking us for fools. This is a ruse." He called down to the opposition: "A filthy lie! The Arkenstone is in this mountain. It is a trick!"

"I-It's not trick." Cheyanne stiffened when she heard Bilbo's voice, and she turned to see him at the top of the stairs. The dwarves all turned as well, and she saw Bilbo swallow. "The stone is real," he said firmly. "I gave it to them."

Thorin approached him slowly. "You."

"I took it as my fourteenth share," Bilbo told him as confirmation.

"You would steal from me?" Thorin demanded, his voice low and dangerous. Cheyanne wanted to reach forward and pull her cousin away from the dwarf, but she didn't dare. Bilbo had made his decision.

"Steal from you?" Bilbo asked him. "No. No, I might be a burglar, but I'd like to think I'm an honest one." He met Thorin's gaze calmly. "I'm willing to let it stand against my claim."

"Against your claim?" Thorin chuckled. "Your claim. You have no claim on me, you miserable rat!"

Bilbo didn't even flinch against his obvious anger. "I was going to give it to you. Many times I wanted to, but-"

"But what, thief?" Thorin questioned sourly.

Bilbo glanced over at Cheyanne, and she shook her head slightly, looking over at the wall, trying to tell him to run. Instead, Bilbo turned back to Thorin and said, "You are changed, Thorin. The dwarf I met in Bag-End would have never gone back on his word." He nodded to the other dwarves standing behind Thorin. "Never would have doubted the loyalty of his kin."

"Do not speak to me of loyalty," Thorin growled. "Throw him from the ramparts!"

Cheyanne's heart stopped, but none of the dwarves moved to follow Thorin's command. The dwarf realized this, and he reached over to pull on oldest nephew. "Did you not hear me?" Fili shoved him away angrily, and Thorin glared at the company before he turned back to Bilbo. "I will do it myself!" He grabbed the hobbit and moved to the wall, shouting curses all the while.

Cheyanne ran forward, and, along with the others, tried to pull Thorin off of Bilbo. "Curse the wizard that forced you on this company!" the dwarf yelled above the shouts of the others, pressing Bilbo against the top of the wall.

Cheyanne was about to jump onto Thorin's back and yank him backwards when there was a loud, booming voice from the army below. "If you do not like my burglar-" Gandalf appeared from the midst of the Elves, voice returning back to normal. "- then please, don't damage him, return him to me!"

Thorin eyes narrowed when he saw the wizard, and he dropped Bilbo like he was a sack of flour. Bilbo was ushered away from him by the dwarves and towards the wall at the end. "Go!" Bofur whispered to him before turning back to the army below.

Bilbo grabbed Cheyanne's arm. "Come with me, please," he whispered to her.

Cheyanne shook her head and tossed a rope over the wall. "Go."

Bilbo gave her forlorn look before he climbed over the wall and started down the mountain. Cheyanne watched him go before she went back to the wall and looked down at Gandalf. The wizard was gazing up at Thorin in disappointment. "You're not making a very splendid figure as King Under the Mountain, are you, Thorin son of Thrain?"

"Never again will I have dealings with wizards or Shire rats!" Thorin shouted down at him.

"If that is how you feel, then you'd best return my other hobbit as well."

Cheyanne froze. The dwarves turned to look at her, and she met Thorin's eyes for a long moment. "What is he saying?" he asked her under his breath.

She felt tears rise to her eyes, and she bowed her head. "I knew. The whole time, I knew he had the Arkenstone," she whispered hoarsely, almost unable to speak. "I distracted you last night so that Bilbo could bring it to Dale." She lifted her head and saw the look in Thorin's eyes. She grimaced. "I wanted to help you. That's all I've ever wanted, Thorin. Please."

Thorin's hand tightened into a fist, and he looked away from her without saying anything. Instead, he called down to Gandalf, "She will stay here with me. She has made her choice."

Cheyanne didn't know whether to relax or flinch at his words.

Gandalf didn't say anything in response, and instead she heard Bard's voice. "Are we resolved? The return of the Arkenstone for what was promised?" There was a pause as Thorin contemplated this. "Give us your answer!" Bard called. "Will you have peace, or war?"

Suddenly, there was a squawk, and a raven landed on the wall in front of Thorin. There was the sound of rumbling from the East, and everyone on the wall turned to look. Thorin grinned. "I will have war."

Over a hill in the distance came a dark mass. Cheyanne narrowed her eyes, squinting to see what it was. She saw after a moment it was dwarves, and her eyes widened. "Iron-foot," she realized. The raven. It all made sense now.

The dwarves of the Iron Hills marched towards the army of Elves, and Thranduil called out a shout in Sindarin. The army turned as one and lined up, facing the oncoming army of dwarves. Cheyanne saw a dwarf riding in front of the others, on the back of a pig. "Dain."

"G'morning!" Dain called, loud enough for everyone to hear. He pulled his pig to a halt, and the dwarves behind him stopped as well. "How are we all?" No one below answered. "I have a wee proposition, if ya wouldn't mind givin' me a few moments of your time. Would ya consider… Just sodding off?! All of you, right now!"

Cheyanne shook her head. Dwarves.

"Come now, Lord Dain!" Gandalf had moved to the front of the line of Elves to speak with the dwarf.

"Gandalf the Gray. Tell this rabble to leave or I'll water the ground with their blood."

"There is no need for war between Elves, dwarves and men," Gandalf yelled. "An army of Orcs is on the march to the mountain." Cheyanne blinked. What was he talking about? "Stand your army down!"

"I will not stand down before any Elf, especially not this woodland sprite!" Dain responded, gesturing towards Thranduil with his hammer. "He wishes nothing but ill on my people. If he chooses to stand between me and my kin, I'll split his pretty head open!" The dwarves on the wall cheered. "We'll see if he's still smirking then!"

Thranduil's voice rose above the call of dwarves. "He's clearly mad, like his cousin."

That was too much for Dain. He wheeled his pig around, shouting, "You hear that, lads? We're on! Let's give these bastards a good hammering!"

The dwarves from the Iron Hills started to march down the hill towards the Elves, and Kili grew restless. He turned to face the others. "I'm going over the wall! Who's coming with me?"

The company started to cheer their agreements, and Thorin turned away from the wall. "Stand down," he ordered under his breath.

"What?" Kili demanded. "Are we to do nothing?"

"I said, stand down!" Thorin shouted, more firmly this time. He walked down the stairs and disappeared into a passage. The dwarves all exchanged a look of concern and shock at their king's choice. Cheyanne let out a breath and bowed her head.

"I can't believe this," Fili exclaimed, throwing down his sword. "Thorin would never do this! What has gotten into him?"

"Dragon sickness," Balin responded. The dwarves turned to look at him, and he shook his head. "We all know it's true. His grandfather had it, and now Thorin does. He will do anything to make sure nothing happens to his gold, and he will not move from this mountain while the treasure is here."

There was a rumble from outside the mountain, and Cheyanne hurried to the wall. She saw the hills in the distance shake, and giant holes burst in the sides. The dwarves joined her at the wall, and Balin murmured, "Were-worms."

The ugly worm things crawled back into the hills, and from the holes they had created marched out an army of Orcs, just like Gandalf had said. Cheyanne let out a gasp. "Maybe the Elves were the last thing we needed to worry about," she whispered to the others.

~ Gaming and Sleep: A Haiku ~

I am damn tired

Sixteen hours of gaming.

Kicked my pale booty.