As an excuse...here the next chapter one day early ;)

'Thorin...' the doors of the infirmary opened and Dwalin emerged with a small bundle. Dwana cocked an eyebrow at her husband, since this time it was obvious that he was not adressed.

The king was surprised to see his dwarfling in the arms of the captain of the guard. He had not heard it cry, yet, so he peeked at it in worry. Two huge brown eyes looked at him, brown eyes so similar to Branns.

'May I introduce you to your daughter, Thorin?' Dwalin smiled. 'Brann named her Belladonna.'

'Belladonna?' Thorin frowned. It was no dwarven name, but he liked it. The fact that Brann had already named their daughter worried him, though. 'How is Brann?'

The king took his tiny daughter into his arms and smiled down at her. Dwalin sighed and stepped from one foot to the other.

'It was a difficult birth and Brann...the queen lost a lot of blood. Oin is still trying to...' Dwalin did not know how to continue as he saw Thorins heartbroken expression.

'Will she live?' Thorin asked with a heavy voice and swallowed hard. His heart turned to ice as he saw his old friend look down at his feet.

'I do not know.' Dwalin sat down on the bench. 'The girl fought, Thorin. She fought for the little one's life like a lioness. But I do not know how much strength she has left. Oin sent me out because he needs to tend on her injuries.'

If Thorin had not held his newborn daughter in his arms, he would have collapsed on the hard ground. He felt helpless and scared and pressed the little princess close, who began to whine quietly. Dis had visited him a few moments ago, she had also brought her sons and his daughters. She had done her best to hide her worry, but Thorin had seen it. He had told her that Brann had promised him to stay with them, but Dis bitterly remembered her father's promise to return to them. Thorins heart wrenched in his chest.

He walked towards the doors and waited for Dwalin to open it for him, for he was holding his daughter. As he entered the infirmary he could see Brann in the huge bed. The bloody sheets had already been discarted to the side and Oin was about to light a fire near the queen. Brann was sleeping, but she was pale.

'She will be fine, my king.' Oin told Thorin and sighed. 'She has lost alot of blood, but she is strong. She will sleep for a long time and she might be weak for a few weeks.'

'Thank you, Oin.' Thorin sighed and sat down at his wife's bed. 'I do not know what I would have done if she...if I would have lost her.'

'You would have carried on, my king. For your daughters.' Oin smiled. 'But there is no need for such depressing thoughts. Your queen will be back at your side, soon.'

Thorin looked up from the bed as Thorin Stonehelm and Dwana entered. Dwana approached him slowly and reached out for Belladonna. 'May I? I will bring her to Dis and her sisters. Congratulations, my king.'

Thorin smiled at his wife's courtlady and gave her his daughter. 'I will stay here for the night.' he informed them and Thorin Stonehelm nodded.

'Balin and I will see to it that the council hears about the successful birth of yet another princess. You are truly blessed, my king.' he smiled at the small dwarfling in his wife's arms and Thorin Oakenshield could not help but think that Thorin Stonehelm and Dwana would make wonderful parents one day. What had happened to the spoiled brat Dwana had been years ago?

'Thank you. I am grateful to have you at our side, both of you.' Thorin smiled at them and nodded as they turned around to leave him and Brann. Oin gave him an additional sheet and a pillow.

'Your wife will be cold because of the blood loss. You can sleep at her side, it will warm her.' Oin smirked as Thorin blushed. 'The bed is big enough and I will make sure that nobody will disturb you until tomorrow. I will look after you after sunrise.'

After Oin had left, Thorin lay down beside Brann and wrapped her into his arms. She was really cold, almost deathly cold.

'I am so proud of you, my love.' Thorin whispered, hoping that his voice would reach her wherever she was right now. 'You gave me three wonderful daughters. Our gems. I love you so much! I am the most lucky dwarf in Middle Earth because I have you at my side. For the first time I envy the elves for something, their immortality. I want to spend eternity with you. I pray that the Maker will not be so cruel to not grant you the access to the hall of my fathers. Or deny me access to Aman. You would like Aman. It is very green and full of life. Long white shores reach deep into the warm sea...at least this is how the elves describe Aman. You probably wonder how I know all of this. There was a time when the dwarves of Erebor had good relations to the elves. Believe it or not, I have spent alot of time with the elves and their culture. I have not always been the grumpy and insufferable dwarf you know.'

Thorin looked down at his sleeping wife and frowned. Brann had been the one who had brought some light back into Thorins life. After the Battle of Azanulbizar she had become Thorins light. The light of his heart.

Thorin was about to fall asleep as Brann stirred. She did not open her eyes, but she was speaking.

'So proud...' Brann whispered and Thorin leaned closer to her, cupping her cheek.

'Proud?' Thorin could not make any sense out of Branns words.

'Dwalin...did not faint.' Brann whispered and smiled faintly before she rendered to unconsciousness again.

Thorin could not help but smile. He had bet with Dis that Dwalin would faint again, but apparently he had lost. His old friend had been victorious over the horrors of birth.

Brann awoke, feeling warm and comfortable. She blinked and stretched, wincing as a sharp pain between her legs woke her up for good. The fires of candles and a small fire enlightened the infirmary and Brann slowly turned her face towards the heat source by her side. The queen smiled as she saw her husband sleeping at her side, his arms wrapped around her middle. He was snoring quietly and Brann leaned into his vibrating chest before she fell asleep herself again.

Two days passed before the queen woke up again. She awoke to the sound of Thorins voice singing to his daughtes. Zial and Gwen had cuddled up at their mothers side and Thorin was holding Belladonna. He sang a song about the Misty Mountains and the sadness in his voice reached Branns heart. She reached out for him and made him jump as her cold hand brushed his.

'Amad! You're awake!' Zial exclaimed and beamed at her mother. 'Adad has taken care of Belladonna all by himself! All alone! Dwana wanted to help him, but he said that he would take care of us, by himself!'

Thorin smiled sheepishly at Branns tired smirk, but he felt a tiny bit proud at his daughters praise. He had spent the last days as the father rather than the king, but the dwarves of the Blue Mountains supported their king as much as possible. The trade ran smoothly and the mines worked effectively. The kingdom of the Blue Mountains ran itself and gave their king the time to care for his family.

Thorin had made his daughters breakfast, lunch and dinner and had read to them before they went to bed. He fed Belladonna and rocked her when she cried. Since Brann could not feed her, Thorin had arranged that the princess would be fed with goat milk. He had woken up three times at night and had sung to his daughter while he was feeding her. Dis and Dwana had offered to help him, but Thorin wanted to do this himself. Zial, Gwen and Belladonna were his daughters and his responsibility and he would take this new challenge.

'You...you took care of our gems...all by yourself?' Brann asked hoarsely and smiled as Thorin nodded. 'My hero.'

Thorin grinned and blushed at his wife's words. 'Zial, Gwen, would you get aunt Dis, Fili and Kili? They wanted to visit as soon as your mother would be awake.'

Zial and Gwen rushed to the heavy doors of the infirmary and opened them to rush over to the royal wing. Thorin grinned as he saw Dwalins huge shadow follow the princesses. The loyal guard would watch over them as long as he drew breath.

Thorin laid Belladonna down at Branns side and leaned forward to kiss his wife. As their lips met, Brann moaned happily.

'Is that our little Belladonna? Help me up, please.' Brann winced as she sat up and felt her weight on the sore parts of her body. She looked down at the small dwarfling and reached out for her. Thorin took the tiny princess and gave her to her mother.

'Brann, may I ask you something?' Thorin's gaze did not leave his wife and daughter.

'Of course, my brave husband.' Brann smirked. 'What is on your mind?'

'Why did you name the litttle gem here Belladonna?' Thorin asked. 'It is a beautiful name, but a plant?'

'A poisonous plant.' Brann smirked. 'Beautiful but dangerous. But I did not name her after that plant. I named her after one of the halflings I met when we lived in Bree. One of the halflings who helped me after the ranger had assaulted me and Dwana. The female. She was so brave and courageous. She had that adventurous gleam in her eyes. I have not forgotten her until today. Her name was Belladonna.'

Thorin nodded and kissed his wife's hand. 'I will gladly accept the name of the halfling who saved my wife as my daughter's name.'

'I assumed.' Brann grinned. 'I am sorry that I did not ask you, but I had not thought about this name until the birth. I had thought about naming the little one after one of the heros of Azanulbizar. But after my ears nearly fell of after listening to Balin telling me the long history of Moria, I changed my mind.'

Thorin smirked and remembered how Balin had told him everyhing he knew about the ancient dwarven kingdoms as he was a young dwarfling. 'Belladonna it is, then.'

This time, Brann needed nearly a month to recover from the birth. Thorin tried to rule his mountain and take care of his three daughters, but as Brann recovered and took over the part of the mother of the family, Thorin was relieved. He admired Dis for taking care of Fili and Kili all by herself. His daughters were his gems and they were precious. Dwarven lords from all seven kingdoms had sent their regards and some had even offered Thorin their sons as husbands for the princesses of the Blue Mountains.

'None of these dwarves is good enough for my gems!' Thorin grumbled and earned a scolding look from his wife.

'You do not even know them. Maybe one of them is quite respectable?' Brann smirked as Thorin determinately shook his head. 'You could marry them to one of the young dwarves in the Blue Mountains? Gimli is such a nice young dwarf...'

The queen started chuckling as her husband chocked on his ale.

Belladonna grew up a happy and merry dwarfling. Her parents and her older sisters spent alot of time with her and if they weren't with her, then Fili and Kili were. The youngest princess rarely cried, but as her teeth started to push through, nobody in the royal wing got any sleep. Nothing helped, no cold water, no herbs, no comfort by her parents. As Thorin and Brann thought that they might go insane from the lack of sleep, Belladonna started sleeping again at night.

'Thank goodness, the little dragon is asleep.' Thorin sighed as he leaned over Belladonnas craddle. Brann smiled as she watched her husband and her youngest daughter. She loved the way Thorin behaved as a father. He was so attentive, so loving and so adorable. The way he looked at their dwarflings was tender and soft. The way he held their daughters warmed Branns heart. Thorin loved his family dearly and the love in his eyes made Brann feel the happiest in her life.

As Thorin hissed, Brann snapped back to attention. Belladonna had grabbed one of her fathers braids in her sleep and pulled slightly. The king slightly turned his head and tried not to wake his daughter while he spoke to his wife.

'A little help please?' he smirked at Branns amused grin. 'Or else I will stand here all night.'

Brann slowly stood up and walked to the craddle. She gently losened her daughters fist from Thorins braid. With a sigh Thorin straightened his back and grabbed his sore muscles.

'Oh dear...is my king husband getting old?' Brann teased him and held back a shriek as Thorin grabbed her and carried her to the bed.

'Old?' Thorin unceremoniously dropped his wife onto the bed and leaned over her. 'I will show you how old I am!'

Brann bit her lower lip as she felt Thorin grind his hips against her and pulled him down for a kiss. 'I would love to, my bear...but we should not...not with Belladonna in the same room.'

Brann chuckled as she heard Thorin groan against her skin. As he started nibbling at the sof skin of her neck she grabbed his hair and pulled his head back. 'I mean it!'

'You want it, too.' Thorin growled and made hot shivers run down Branns spine. 'I can see the longing in your eyes, my queen...'

Brann fought back a moan as Thorin kissed her passionately and for a moment she forgot that their daughter was right beside them. But she could not. 'No!'

Reluctantly Thorin parted from his wife and frowned deeply. Brann had to laugh as she saw her husband pout.

'We could spend some time together tomorrow? I will ask Dis to take care of our daughters and we could have some time for us?' Brann suggested, but Thorin sadly shook his head.

'A delegation from the south will arrive tomorrow, I will be in council all day and at the dinner all night.' Thorin informed Brann.

'Right. The lord of the Haradrim arrives tomorrow, I forgot.' Brann frowned. She had not payed attention to the life outside of their family lately. It was time to appear at her husbands side as his queen again. She would talk to Dis tomorrow morning and would ask her to babysit the princesses so that Brann could have her comeback at Thorins side. It was time.

The next day, Thorin and Brann walked to the throne room, clad into the royal garments and their crowns. Thorins breath had been caught in his throat as he had seen Brann in her queens outfit this morning. He had realised how long she had not been at his side in public. He thanked Mahal for the fact that no dwarf since Mara and his family had dared to challenge Branns position as his queen. Branns long absense could have triggered suspision in the monds of Thorins kin, but no single dwarf had even thought of questionning their relationship. They had accepted Brann as their queen. She was the first non dwarf who had been accepted in the society of Durins Folk. She was their queen. His queen.

The delegation of the Haradrim arrived just as Thorin and Brann had sat down on their thrones. Thorin had carved a smaller throne for Brann himself and had placed it at his side. It was the first time in the history of the Mahals children that a dwarven king had accepted his queen on eye level.

The Haradrim walked up to the royal couple in a fast pace. Their leader was tall and extremly handsome. He had black straight hair, tied back into a ponytail at the back of his head. Sharp cheekbones and a strong nose graced his face and thin lips curled up in a smug smile as he approached the throne. Grey eyes pierced Thorins blue and Branns brown eyes and glistened arrogantly before he broke the eye contact to bow.

'King Thorin.' his voice was deep, but his tone was cold. 'It is an honor to finally meet the great king of the Blue Mountains.

'Lord Ahran.' Thorin frowned. The Haradrim lord completely ignored Brann and Thorin did not like it. 'May I introduce you to queen Brann, my wife.'

Lord Ahran showed a forced smile and slightly bowed his head before Brann. He did not say a word.

'This insolent southern...' Thorin was furious beyond reason as he stomped back to their rooms.

'Thorin...' Brann tried to calm him down. 'The Haradrim have a different view on women than the men, elves and dwarves we know. Women in the Haradrim culture are inferior to the men and they have no rights. It must have been strange for the lord to see me sit at your side as your equal.'

'How do you know all of this?' Thorin stopped walking and looked at his wife in surprise.

'Little Ori gave me a book about the Haradrim and their culture this morning.' Brann smiled sheepishly. 'I only read a few pages, but I remembered that. Their culture is very inteesting. Maybe lord Ahran will answer me a few questions when he gets used to our way of life.'

'I'd rather not know you near him.' Thorin mumbled. 'I do not trust him.'

'You never trust anyone near me.' Brann smirked and cupped her husbands face in her hands. As she kissed his nose, all of Thorins worries and doubts vanished.

I am so sorry for torturing you guys with the last cliffhanger, I hope that you can forgive me...But like some of you already stated correctly, Brann has a shorter life span than Thorin, which means that she will die eventually. I have not yet decided how to continue, which means that I will try to fill the chapters with some fluff...I hope that you will like it. I will try to update twice a week as usual, but maybe it will come down to once a week. I do not know yet. Thank you so much for reading, reviewing and following/favoring! You guys are the best! :*