Branns knees nearly gave away as she looked upon the dwarfling in Daras arms. The dwarfling who looked like Thorin, like her husband, the king of the Blue Mountains. Although she knew that it could not be possible, her heart turned to stone. But she would not give into her feelings, she was the queen and she would act that way.

'Lady Dara, may I remind you that you were banished from this kingdom"' Brann stated coldly.

'I am aware of this, queen Brann.' Dara answered innocently, but the gleam in her eyes was dangerous. 'But I had to come here...and introduce my dwarfling to his father.'

With these words Dara turned around and faced Thorin who had become pale as death. The king had to sit down on his throne and panted in shock.

'This cannot be.' Thorin whispered and looked at the dwarfling on Daras arms, the little one who looked so much like him.

'How can you say that?' Dara asked with a teary voice. 'This is your son, my king. Our son. Did the words which you whispered into my ear that night mean nothing to you? You wished to have an heir and I gave him to you. Look at him. Your heir and I named him Thror after his geat grandfather.'

Thorin was speechless. He knew that Dara was lying, she had to be lying. But the dwarfling looked so much like him that there was no way around it. He could not ignore that he was the father. His gaze moved to Brann who stood behind Dara with wide eyes. The queen was petrified and under shock. He could see the hurt and pain in her eyes, the same pain he had seen as he had laid with Dara after their wedding. Brann felt set back in time, Thorin could feel it. But this was the present and Dara had won.

'I am sure that the honorable king of the Blue Mountains will not send away the dwarf who carries his heir?' Dara asked, her voice shaking. 'Please. Look at your son, Thorin.'

Dara held the dwarfling up and reached out for Thorin. Brann could not stand it anymore and turned around on her heels, fleeing from the throne room. Tears blurred her vision and she ran all the way back to her rooms.

'This cannot be! I thought that you said yourself that Thorin could not have...you know...' Dis was stunned. She had just heard that Dara had arrived in the Blue Mountains and that she claimed to have had Thorins dwarfling. She had rushed to the royal chambers and had found Brann in tears, with her daughters pressed to her chest.

'I was wrong! Dis, the boy looks like Thorin. The black hair, the blue eyes!' Brann exclaimed in despair. 'This is Thorins son!'

Dis sat down in shock. Dara had done it, she had tricked Thorin into having to accept her as the mother of his heir. Brann was still the queen, but she had given Thorin two daughters, daughters who were not able to follow Thorin onto the throne after dwarven law.

'What will you do now?' Dis asked Brann.

The queen shook her head numbly. 'I do not know. This is not Thorins fault, he was tricked into this misery. But I can't...I can't live like this. I can't stay at his side knowing that he has a dwarfling with another. I just can't bear the thought that...'

Branns knees gave in and the queen collapsed beside the bed. Her daughters were sleeping, thank Mahal, and Dis rushed over to her sister in law to take her into her arms. That was how Thorin found his wife and his sister as he came back into the rooms.

'Brann...' he whispered. 'Brann, please...I am so sorry...forgive me...'

The king stumbled through the room and sat down on the floor at the side of his wife. Dis looked at her brother and sadly turned away to give them some privacy.

'My love, please say something.' Thorin begged as Branns sobs had stopped.

'What do you want me to say?' Brann asked weakly. 'There is nothing to say.'

'You have to believe me! I would never have...I would never have touched her...that way...' Thorin tried to assure his wife. But Brann held up a hand and crawled away from her husband. She knew that he spoke the truth, but still she could not look at him. She did not know what to think anymore, she was lost. Brann felt as if a huge mountain lay on her heart and soul.

'Please...I love you. Look at me! I love you, Brann!' Thorin exclaimed, his voice full of panic.

'I love you, too.' Brann sobbed. But as Thorin wanted to take her into his arms she backed away. 'But I need...I need to think. Please leave...'

'Brann...' Thorins heart shattered into a million pieces.

'Leave!' Brann begged and turned away from her husbands pleading blue eyes.

It took a while for Thorin to stand up and walk out of the room. The king moved as if in a dream, a nightmare. In this nighmare he left the room and walked away from his wife and from his family.

Lord Mara grinned in triumph as Thorin declared his daughter the mother of the royal heir of the Blue Mountains. He did not care that no dwarf cheered or applauded, he did not care that the dwarves of the Blue Mountains eyed his daughter with dark looks. All he cared about was that his daughter was now the mother to the heir. Asif smirked at Dis who glared daggers at her and held her head high. She was now the grandmother to the heir and she would let Dis pay for all the disrespect she had shown towards her in the past.

Thorin sat on his throne with a stony expression. His nightmare was still ongoing. Brann had not left the royal chambers since Dara had arrived and Thorin had not been allowed into his own rooms. Brann had send Dwana to him with his daughters, but she would not see him. As Dara shoved the dwarfling into the kings arms, Thorins heart stayed cold to his son. He looked down at the small dwarfling, into his huge blue eyes and felt nothing. He felt bad about it, since the little boy had no fault in this, but he could not love his son.

'King Thorin, now that you have acknowledged your son, maybe we should talk about a contract.' lord Mara pointed out and the council winced as they saw their king's murderous expression. But sadly, lord Mara was right. It was only honorable to acknowledge the mother of the heir and her family, Thorin had no other choice.

'Lady Dara will be given a room in the royal wing.' Thorin stated hoarsely. 'As well as you and your wife, lord Mara. You and your family will be given a title and the highest honor.'

'We feel honored to be part of the line of Durin from this day, my king.' lord Mara bowed and ignored Dis sneer.

'May I remind my king that it is only honorable to seal the contract with a proper marriage?' Asif popped in. 'My daughter is the mother of your heir. What would people think if she only held the title of the royal mistress?'

Thorin clenched his jaw that violently that his teeth pressed into his skull. He had to refrain from jumping up and throwing that arrogant family out himself. He would never marry that dwarf, that dwarf that destroyed his happy family. The dwarf who was about to destroy his marriage.

'I apologise, my lady.' Thorin had to force himself to stay calm. 'I have already made clear to you that I will not marry your daughter. I have a queen. I love my queen and I will not dishonor our love. Your daughter, Dara, will be given the title of the mother of the royal heir with all the honor which belongs to the title.'

'But my king, it is only honorable that...' Asif tried again, but she was interrupted by a cold voice from behind.

'Honor is a concept lost to some, lasy Asif.' Brann stated coldly and emerged from the shadows. 'I can assure you that my husband will act honorably. He has accepted our grandson as his heir and he will assure the wealth and prosper of your family from now on. No dwarven law forces a king to marry the mother of his dwarflings. Maybe one day, your daughter will find a dwarf who she can love and who loves her back. We would be honored to throw a wedding for her when the time has come.'

Brann walked past the stunned dwarves and sat down at the side of her husband. She held her head high and took Thorins hand as she sat down. Their gaze met and Brann nodded at her husband. She had gotten over her shock and had realised that Thorin needed her now, more than ever. They were husband and wife, not only in good times, but also in times of peril.

Thorin was glad that he was already sitting on his throne, otherwise he would have collapsed at the sight of his wife. He felt a relief he had never felt before as Branns warm hand touched his and squeezed it. With his queen at his side his situation seemed less hopeless.

'The king and queen of the Blue Mountains have spoken, hail to the king and queen!' Balin called out and the throne room disrupted into cheers and applause. The dwarves were loyal to their king and their queen and they would not let Mara and his family disturb their peaceful reign.

Lord Mara grinded his teeth, he knew that it would be unwise to speak again. For now.

'Brann...' Thorin had followed his wife to their rooms, but had stopped at the door. He did not dare to come in.

Brann sighed and walked back to her husband. She took his hand and pulled him into the room. She did not say a word, but she started to get ready for bed. The twins had their own rooms by now and were already sleeping. Brann peered into their room and smiled as she saw their daughters sleep safe and sound. She had posted two guards at every entrance of their chambers, she would not take any chances with Maras family. Thorin himself had forged the locks on the doors and Dorn had made their bed. Beautiful ornaments were carved into the massive wood and Brann sighed as she remembered the day Dorn had brought them his present. He still mourned, but it appeared that his grief had diminished. Brann silently closed the door and turned back to Thorin who sat at the fireplace, stripped down to his tunic and a simple pair of trousers. Brann put on her nightgown and went to bed. They still did not speak a word, but as Thorin slipped under the covers of their bed their hands met. Brann moved close to her husband and cuddled up at his side. Their fingers tangled and for the first time this week, the king and queen found sleep.

'This insolent...how dare she?' Asif snarled and paced in her new rooms. 'This human bitch just dishonored my daughter in front of all those dwarves!'

'She will pay for it soon enough.' Mara stated calmly. 'Without a marriage our position is still unstable. Even with a marriage, all the queen would have to do is give birth to a son herself. Then our Dara would only be mother to the second in line.'

'We should kill her.' Dara snarled through clenched teeth. 'She is all that stands between me and Thorin.'

'Silence, you little wench!' Mara hissed and slapped his daughter square in the face. 'No word about murdering the queen inside of this mountain! Are you insane?'

Dara looked at her father with big eyes as tears streamed down her face. She cupped her burning cheek with her hand and held her son in the other. Little Thror started screaming bloody murder as his grandfather started yelling.

'Do you really think that Thorin will marry you if his wife dies? He is no stupid dwarf, he will know that it was our doing.' Mara snarled.

'Then what will we do now?' Asif needed to know.

'We will wait.' Mara decided. 'We will wait and maybe fate will be on our side for once.'

'Amad!' Gwen walked towards Brann on shakin legs. 'Adad?'

'Your father is in council, little gem.' Brann lifted her daughter up onto her arms.

'Thror?' Gwen looked at her mother with big eyes. The little princesses were too young to understand what Thror meant for their parents. Gwen adored the small dwarfling and had accepted him as her little brother while Zial stayed away from him stubbornly. Somehow Zial felt that this dwarfling made her parents sad and disliked him instantly.

Dara used every opportunity to disturb Thorins and Branns family life by barging in with Thror, claiming that he needed to see his father. Brann stayed calm, but the rage burning inside of her stomach made her sick and the queen even lay sick for several days. But Brann would not accept defeat. Thror was a cute little fellow and one day Brann decided to get her revenge on Dara and took him up into her arms. Humming and rocking him in her arms the queen walked away and left his mother behind. Thror smiled up at Brann and squieked happily and for one moment Brann had to smile down at the small heir. He was adorable and Brann wondered if Thorin had looked that cute as a dwarfling, too.

Thorins heart nearly stopped as he saw Brann with Daras dwarfling. Dis, who was sitting behind Thorin grinned brightly, for she knew what her sister in law was planning. For a moment Thorin was not sure what to think, but as Dara appeared with a furious glare, Thorin could not help but smirk.

'Give him back to me, he is not yours to hold!' she sneered at Brann.

'Oh, but you are mistaken, lady Dara.' Brann stated calmly and with a sweet smile. 'It is my duty as a queen to ensure his proper education. Thror is the heir to my husband and I will make sure that he gets the best treatment. This is a luxury you cannot give him with your rank and title, dear.'

Brann spoke provocatively and could not help but look smug as Dara started opening and closing her mouth again and again like a fish on land.

'Such a precious little boy, all his adad.' Brann said sweetly and nuzzled Thrors nose one last time before she gave him back to Dara. Dara only sneered at the queen and turned on her heels to leave the royal quarters.

'By Durin's beard, you can be a real bitch if you want to, congratulations!' Dis laughed and Thorin shook his head. His wife's new behaviour puzzled him, he did not know her like this. But he would not complain, this whole situation was his fault. He should have been more cautious and he should never have trusted Mara enough to spend an evening with him and his family.

'The little one really is precious. Its not his fault that his mother is such a...you know...' Brann swallowed what she wanted to say as Zial and Gwen walked in. Dwana followed on their heels and glared at the door through which Dara had left. Brann had asked Dwana to have an eye on the twins every moment they were away from their parents. Brann knew that the presence of Mara and his family was a threat to her family. She would never leave her children with Dara or her parents unattended.

'Brann, could I talk to you for a moment?' Dwana asked her queen.

Brann nodded and followed Dwana to her rooms. Thorin Stonehelm was already waiting for them as well as Balin and Nori. The queen frowned at the waiting dwarves and looked at her courtlady questioningly.

'Why are you all here? What is this about?' Brann asked and watched Thorin and Balin who shuffled with their feet.

'We have an offer to make.' Thorin started. 'Master Balin and I were talking and we spoke about the unfortunate evening king Thorin spent with lord Mara and his family.'

Brann swallowed heavily and frowned at her husband's advisor and her godson. 'What happened was wrong and ...unfortunate. But I assure you that there is no need for further investigation.'

'With all due respect, my queen. I disagree.' Balin stepped forward. 'You know how Narcotica works and you know that Thorin would never have been able to perform...the kind of service Dara needed to get pregnant. And yet - here she is, with a dwarfling.'

'Balin.' Brann sighed. 'There are only two possible options. Either Thorin was drugged and could not perform that night, but did so another night. Or he was drugged and Daras child is not his.'

Balin cocked an eyebrow at the queen and waited for the news to settle in.

'You think that this dwarfling is not his?' Brann could feel a headache build up inside of her skull. 'But the little one looks exactly like him.'

'He does indeed.' Balin nodded. 'But Thorin is not the only dwarf in Middle Earth with black hair and blue eyes.'

Brann started pacing and felt sick instantly. 'So...you are telling me that Thorin did not sleep with Dara, at least not last year, and that this dwarfling is someone elses? That Dara slept with a dwarf who looked similar to Thorin with the only goal to trick Thorin into accepting this dwarfling as his? This is insane!'

'But it is the only explanation.' Balin assured Brann. 'Thorin would not accept to take Dara as his second wife and this was the only way to get a hold onto the rank and title Dara and her family wanted so much.'

'Alright.' Brann had to sit down. 'Even if all of this was true. How do we prove it? There is no way to prove that this dwarfling is not Thorins.'

'There is one way.' Nori stepped forward. 'We need to find Thrors father.'