AN: Heyy… guess who's back? Apologies for the delay, university life is very stressful and busy! This chapter is kind of AU, in this Fili and Kili have a younger sister. This character won't always feature as a permanent part of this story, sometimes she may exist, other times she might not. Hence why these are all one-shots haha :P hope you enjoy!

As always, reviews are greatly appreciated :) please feel free to leave suggestions/requests if you have any ideas for future chapters!

Ages: Fili 10, Kili 8, Siggy 4/5.

Princess of Erebor

It was too quiet.

The children of Dis were never this quiet. Concerned, Thorin placed his book down on the sofa and rose to his feet. He paused when he heard gentle humming from down the hall. Smiling, the crownless dwarf king rose to his feet and made his way down the corridor towards a small room with a pink bow tied around the door knob. Thorin silently pushed the door open slightly to peek into the room, grinning as he watched the little dwarfling hum as she coloured in shapes on a piece of parchment. Her shoulder length raven locks had come loose of their blue ribbons, which had fallen to the floor beside her seat. The little girl stuck her tongue out slightly up towards the tip of her sharp nose, blue eyes framed by thick dark lashes focused intently as she furrowed her brow and concentrated on colouring between the lines of what appeared to be a circle representing the sun.

Still grinning, the young dwarf king rapped his knuckles lightly on the door frame. The dwarfling gasped and swivelled in her seat, lighting up as he spotted her uncle in the doorway.

"Uncle Thorin!" the child cried excitedly as she ran up to her uncle. Thorin entered the room and placed his large hand tenderly atop his niece's head as she beamed up at him.

"What were you so focused on, my little jewel?" Thorin asked, his eyes and lips smiling as the dwarfling's eyes sparkled.

"Look, I drew a picture!" the little princess exclaimed, shoving the parchment into Thorin's hands as he knelt on the floor and hitched the child up on his knee, keeping palm around her waist lest the child topple over.

Thorin chuckled deeply and placed a loud, affectionate kiss on his niece's rosy, chubby cheek. The child giggled as her uncle regarded the picture once more. In the top left corner she had drawn the sun, followed by six stick figures standing amongst green lines which Thorin presumed had to be grass. Two stick figures stood together holding hands, one with a blonde hair and beard, the other with long raven hair. Two smaller stick figures stood next to them, the blonde carried a toy sword and the dark haired figure carried a small bow and arrow. Finally, a third tiny, raven haired stick figure wearing a blue dress held the hand of a larger stick figure with matching raven hair and a large gold crown upon his head. The artist's name had been scribbled down in the bottom right hand corner, the shaky runes spelling "Sigdis."

"It is a very fine picture, love," Thorin praised as he cuddled the beaming child closer to him. His brow suddenly creased as he frowned. "Where are your brothers?"

The little princess sighed as she toyed with the bead at the end of the braid coming down from Thorin's right temple. "They were playing chess and Fee won and then Kee got mad and punched Fee and then Fee tackled Kee and then they wrestled and then -" she inhaled deeply before continuing rapidly, "- then Kee got tired and Fee let him win and then they got sleepy."

Thorin followed her tiny pointed finger towards the other end of the room where among a pile of pillows, quilts and stuffed toys, his little nephews had passed out and were drooling on one another. The little princess stifled a yawn and dropped her head to rest on her uncle's broad shoulder. Swinging his niece up into his arms, Thorin cradled her gently as he paced back and forth and soothingly rubbed his balm around her back, lulling the child to sleep within minutes.

It was later that afternoon when Dis returned home from the market and found her two sons curled up together amongst their scattered bedding. Her heart melted when her gaze landed on her older brother sprawled on the floor, head titled back resting against the wall, cuddling her daughter in his arms. A sad smile graced her lips as Dis spotted the childish family drawing featuring her late husband Vili. Closing the door behind her quietly, Dis didn't have the heart to wake up her little family of troublemakers until it was time for dinner.

xxxxxxx

"Uncle Thorin?"

Thorin started from his dozing in his armchair and snapped his eyes to the doorway of his private study. The flames in the fireplace had died down earlier in the evening, causing the room to be almost pitch black. Thorin reached forward to stoke the fireplace, thus lighting up the room once more. He rubbed his eyes wearily and smiled at his niece, who dressed in her nightgown and hair tumbling down her shoulders, came to sit cross-legged in front of him. She turned to peek cheekily over her shoulder and handed two sapphire beads to the king of Erebor. She placed the beads as well as a golden comb into his palm and turned her back to him. Thorin chuckled and began to comb her hair before parting it into two sections to braid it from the temples all the way down. His ministrations caused the princess' eyes to flutter close as she hummed quietly. Thorin smiled, nostalgic, as he reminisced the countless times he been placed in the same position when it came to braiding his niece's hair throughout the years. "Why are you not asleep at his hour, Siggy?"

Sigdis opened her eyes and sighed, yet she did not reply. Thorin paused and his shoulders stiffened. "Have you been having bad dreams again?" he asked softly.

Sigdis slumped over and hesitantly, nodded in affirmation. Thorin's expression sobered and he shook his head despondently. He knew he should not have brought his niece along with himself and his nephews on the quest to reclaim Erebor, but Sigdis could not be swayed. Barely of age, Dis had given him hell when she had discovered her brother's intentions to allow her innocent daughter on such a dangerous mission, especially since she was a healer and not an expertly trained warrior like her brothers. The hardships faced along the journey, Thorin's temporary albeit disturbing descent into gold sickness, as well as the final battle in which the all three male heirs of Durin almost perished, were enough to inflict trauma upon even the toughest of souls. Although all three Durin dwarves had been injured significantly, the sheer severity of Thorin and Fili's wounds had shaken both Siggy and Kili to their core. Whilst the rebuilding of Erebor and settlement between the neighbouring kingdoms were relatively successful distractions, the Durins eagerly awaited the arrival of Dis, the only one who could truly sooth their hearts and minds.

"I am sorry, love…"

Siggy turned and caught his hand, shaking her head defiantly. "It is not your fault, Uncle," she said sternly, "please stop blaming yourself. I cannot bear the pain, not my own nor the suffering of those whom I care for greatly."

Thorin clasped the beads around the ends of her braids and glanced up at her round, youthful face. Fondly cupping her cheek in his palm, he leaned forward to place a chaste kiss on the crown of her head. Siggy smiled up at him and allowed herself to be cradled in his embrace, burying her nose into the fur of his coat. Thorin rested his chin atop her head and soothingly rocked her back and forth as if she was once more a dwarfling. It was this peaceful state in which Fili and Kili found their uncle and sister in the next morning, and neither had the heart to wake them from their contented slumber.