Brann walked into the infirmary and wanted to get some salves as she interrupted a discussion between Oin and one of the Haradrim. The man´s name was Aldebaran and he was also a healer. And a priest. Both bowed as Brann entered and stopped talking.

'Please, I did not wish to interrupt.' Brann assured them. 'Master Oin, I will need a few more salves for the princesses. Since Zial and Gwen have started their weapons training I have to tend to their bruises and cuts...'

Brann hated the fact that her daughters had started with weapons training so early. But they were both very into weapons and Brann knew that every dwarf had to be a warrior if he or she wanted to be accepted in the dwarven society. She did not have to like it.

'Of course, my queen.' Oin nodded at his visitor and quickly brought some pots of salve. 'You know how they work...a thin layer is enough.'

'Thank you, Oin.' Brann smiled at the old healer. 'Please continue, Master Oin, Master Aldebaran.'

The healer from the south bowed and immediately started his discussion with Oin again. Brann could only hear a few words before the door closed behind her. They were talking about death.

'Bringing people back from the dead is black magic. Nothing good can come of this.' the queen heard Oin mutter.

Brann found her daughters on the training ground with her nephews and Dis, Dwana and both Thorins. Dwana was holding Belladonna and Thorin Oakenshield sat on the ground in the middle of the training arena, surrounded by dwarflings. Silently the queen sat down beside her courtlady and took her youngest daughter into her arms. Belladonna was very much like her, she had her looks and her gentle character. Brann could not imagine Belladonna ever touching a weapon.

Thorin acknowledged the presence of his queen with a loving smile and turned back to the dwarflings. 'All dwarves with honor are kings, but not all kings have honor.' he told the dwarflings who were listening to the king with big eyes.

'What is honor?' one of the youngest dwarflings asked.

'Honor is something which cannot be given to you. It can also not be taken from you. Honor is a gift from ouselves at ourselves.' Thorin told him earnestly.

'Do females have honor, too?' Gimli asked and Brann could not decide wether to chuckle or frown.

'Of course, we have honor!' that was Gwen. 'Why should we have none?'

The princess punched the poor dwarfling and Gimli grumbled into his beard.

'Females are the heart of honor. And that is why we have to cherish and protect them.' Thorin stated and looked at Brann while he spoke.

'How do we know if we posess any honor?' Fili asked. Brann could see the doubt in the eyes of the young dwarf. Fili began to take his role as Thorins heir seriously and he feared to not be good enough to follow his majestic and honorable uncle.

'Honor will show itself, it grows in you and speaks to you, to your heart. You only need to listen.' Thorin told his heir and Brann felt her heart reach out to him. Thorin had become king very young, but he had all the attributes of a king. A good king and a wise king. An honorable king.

'Alright, enough of this talking!!' Dwalin rubbed his hands. 'Du bekar! Draw your weapons! Move, move, move! You! You will die on the battlefield if you continue to move like a sleepwalking elf!'

Thorin managed to stumble out of the sudden chaos and made Brann laugh as he had to adjust his crown as he reached her. 'Sweet Durin...can you imagine? Balin was just like him in his youth.'

'Never! I do not believe you!' Brann gasped. 'Balin? Seriously? Reasonable and respectful Balin? Oh dear...'

'Ask Dis.' Thorin grinned and his sister nodded.

'The best drill instructor under the mountain. Hard, but fair.' Dis smirked. 'I remember I had to take double lessons because I had contradicted him.'

'Zial! Higher with your sword! Your opponents will all be taller than you are!' Dwalin yelled at the princess and Brann jumped. 'Gwen, an axe is not a teddy bear! Up with it! If you see blackness in front of your eyes, then you fell asleep!'

'I will better leave...' Brann shook her head. She knew that Dwalin was a good instructor, but she did not want to watch him yell at her little gems.

Fili and Kili were training on their own in the neighbouring arena. 'His hair left him because it could not stand him anymore.' Brann heard Kili mutter and had to press both hands to her mouth to chocke her laughter.

On her way back to her chambers, Brann met with Aldebaran again. He politely nodded at her and Brann took the opportunity to speak to the scholar.

'Excuse me, lord Aldebaran.' Brann was curious. 'I did not want to eavesdrop on your conversation with master Oin, but what you said makes me curious. Do the Haradrim have a way for people to be victorious over death? Now that I heard about it, I recall to have read about this, too.'

The scholar tilted his head. 'Indeed, some Haradrim have managed to trick death and stay in the world of the living. But it is a life...different than the one you know now. It is a life between the worlds, between the spheres. May I ask why you are interested in this dark magic?'

'I...' Brann bit her lip, but now that she had asked she also owed him an explanation. 'I have lived thirty three winters now and my lifespan will end long before the one of my husband. I...was just curious.'

'Death is always more painful for the ones who are left behind.' the scholar nodded. 'But dark magic would only bring your body back from the death. It would be a hollow shell, without a soul. I doubt that you would want to live at the side at your husband that way.'

'Then why do some chose to live that way?' Brann frowned.

'Some have an unfinished business they need to attend to. Some only fear death. Some fear to be forgotten.' Aldebaran shook his head. 'I can understand your motives, queen Brann. Everyone can see that you and king Thorin are ...how do you call it? Soulmates? The knowledge that you will not live as long as him must be devastating. But I am afraid that keeping you alive with the knowledge of my people will bring more pain and sadness than your death. I am sorry.'

'Do not be sorry, my lord.' Brann took a deep breath. 'I thank you for your honesty and your trust.'

'It was my pleasure, your majesty.' Aldebaran smiled. 'I hope that you will find peace and that you will have many years at the side of your husband.'

'Thank you. I hope so, too.' Brann had to swallow heavily. The thought of leaving Thorin and her daughters behind was more than she could take.

Belladonnas first birthday was celebrated with a merry gathering in the royal chambers. The king and queen, Dis, her sons, Dwalin, Dwana and her husband, Balin, Bombur, Oin, Ori and many others were there to honor the princess. Gimli was also there and always tried to stay near Gwen. Brann was astonished to hear that the young dwarf had actually sat through endless sessions of reading in the library. He had not even fallen asleep as Gwen had read out from the book of ancient history. Or maybe he had slept with his eyes open. Brann shoved a piece of cake into her husband´s mouth everytime he wanted to say something against Gimli following Gwen around and soon, the king gave up. Brann was about to wipe some cream out of her husband´s beard and looked at him lovingly, as Bombur decided to dedicate his gift to the princess. His brother Bofur was a toymaker and he had made a beautiful silver rattle for the princess. Bombur took the rattle and started dancing and jumping in front of Belladonna to demonstrate to her how that new toy worked. Shortly after he had started to dance and jump, Kili came running out of the neighbouring room.

'Earthquaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!' he yelled. Bombur froze in midmotion and glared at the young prince. Kili looked back at the huge cook with wide eyes and started stammering. Fili, of course, rushed to his brother´s aid.

'...is a dance...and I am sure you know it.' Fili tried to save the situation, but Bombur was already moving to grab the two princes and give them the scolding of a lifetime.

The next morning, Thorin Stonehelm and Dwana were woken up by Brann, who stormed into their chambers in her nightgown and bathrobe.

'She is crawling, Belladonna is crawling!' she exclaimed and ran back to the royal chambers again. Dwana followed her with a grin and Thorin grabbed his axe and ran out, for he was still half asleep and thought that something had happened.

Brann nearly kicked the bathroom door open and Thorin Oakenshield, who was trimming his beard, jumped and cut himself.

'She is crawling! Belladonna is crawling!' she grinned at her husband, who only looked at her in shock.

'I am bleeding, Thorin is bleeding.' he exclaimed and earned a playful slap from his wife. Nevertheless, he followed her out and walked to the corner, where his youngest daughter was playing. Thorin Stonehelm and Dwana were already there. Young Thorin saw the soap on the kings face and smirked.

'Trimming?' he asked.

'No, rabbies.' Thorin answered sarcastically and made his godson smile. If Brann would not know better, she would have sworn that the two Thorins were father and son.

Meanwhile, Belladonna was sitting on her behind and happily played with her toys.

'Look at her go.' Dwana remarked and ignored Branns frown.

'Just wait, she will do it again.' the queen told them and so they waited.

Dis came in with a basket of fruits for Brann and cocked her eyebrows at the sight before her. The king and queen and their courtlady and bodyguard were frozen in motion and looked down at the princess, who was still happily playing, ignoring the adults. With a smirk, Dis walked over to them and stood beside Dwana, mimicking her pose.

'Who is painting us?' Dis asked and broke the spell. Soon everyone was laughing so hard, that nobody paid attention to Belladonna crawling to the room of her sisters.

'Are you going to the library to do your homework again?' Brann asked as Gwen walked past her with her arms full of books.

'Yes, but...it will only be me and Ori.' Gwen stated and Brann frowned at her daughters expression. Gwen did not seem particularly sad, but she seemed to worry.

'Why is Gimli not going with you?' the queen asked.

'Gimli is acting weird lately.' Gwen said as a matter of factly. 'Ori says that its puberty.'

Oh dear. Brann started to pity Gloin and his wife. They only had one son, but Brann was sure that Gimli in puberty was worse than Fili and Kili. The two princes could at least go on each others nerves, but Gimli would dumb everything in his parents.

'Do not worry, that will pass.' Brann smiled as her daughter left for the library. She only hoped that Thorin would not get unreasonable again when he learned that his daughters friend was turning into an adult slowly but steadily.

The king was with Gloin at the moment and thanked Mahal that he had no sons. He stepped from one foot to the other while Gloin and Gimli snarled at each other.

'I told you that you will not leave this room until you have sharpened these axes!' Gloin snarled.

'These are your axes, why should I sharpen them?' Gimli yelled.

'One day these will be your axes and I hope that they will be sharp enough to cut down some orcs!' Gloin yelled back and made Thorins ears ring. How this family did not turn deaf was beyond him.

'You don´t even let me go on patrol with the soldiers, so why bother?' Gimli grumbled and Gloin snapped.

'One more word, lad, and I am getting your mother.' he growled.

Thorin barely supressed his laughters as he saw Gimli give in immediately.

'Works every time.' Gloin smugly told Thorin and made the king smile.

'You want to get me? Why?' a shrill voice came from the door and made the male dwarves jump. Gloins wife was standing in the door, with Brann right behind her. The queen winced at Gimlis mother´s harsh tone, but she knew that the dwarf loved her family. She just showed it differently.

'Nothing, my love.' Gloin quickly assured her. 'The king and I will go down to the treasury and inspect the changing of the guard. Afterwards we wanted to meet with Captain Dwalin.'

'You and the king only want to go for a drink afterwards.' Glona, Gloins wife, pointed her finger at him.

'You can go and have a drink if you want.' Brann had moved close behind Thorin and whispered into his ear, making him smile lovingly. She eyed Gloins wife with big eyes. 'She scares me.'

Thorin chuckled and kissed his wife´s hands. 'I am the luckiest dwarf in the world to have you.'

Brann nearly leaned in for a kiss, but she remembered that it would be inappropriate. She rolled her eyes as she saw Gloin and Glona kiss and apparently forgetting their fight. She quickly gave Thorin a peck on the nose and sneaked out. When Gloin would leave with Thorin, Brann did not want to be stuck with the dragon...ehm Glona.

The delegation of the Haradrim left the Blue Mountains in the Summer. Oin and Brann had learned alot of the scholar and healer, lord Aldebaran. His words about death did not let go of Brann. She knew that she had to enjoy the time given to her and Thorin, but the queen grew desperate the more time passed. With a heavy heart, she decided to speak to her husband.

'Thorin?' Brann found the king in the royal chambers, fighting throught the paperwork.

'Hmmm?' Thorin looked up and frowned at his wife´s expression. 'My love? What is it?'

'I need to speak to you. And I do not want you to start yelling.' Brann told him determinately. Thorin frowned, but he nodded and leaned back in his chair. Brann sat down on the edge of the desk, ignoring Thorins cocked eyebrow.

'I have talked to lord Aldebaran about...my situation.' Brann bit her lip. 'I will die, Thorin. I will die sooner than a dwarf. My lifespan will be no more than maybe thirty to forty years more. The haradrim have a way to trick death, but I will not chose that path. Their dark magic will leave nothing more than a hollow shell of the woman I am. But maybe I can find another way to be with you...after my body has died.'

Thorin shook his head. He did not want to hear any of it. He would die with his wife when the moment would come.

'The elves sail to the Undying Lands.' Brann held up her hands as Thorin openend is mouth in protest. 'No, please. Let me finish. I want to travel to the Grey Havens. I want to know more about their death rituals. They do not die of old age, but they part from their loved ones - for me, that is the same.'

'What do you think the elves will tell you?' Thorin tried to stay calm. 'They will not speak to you about their beliefs. They think that nobody but the elves can understand their way of life. Or death.'

'I need to find a way to be with you. I do not even know if I will be granted to enter the Halls of your Fathers.' Brann kneeled before her husband. 'I cannot leave you, Thorin. I just cannot.'

Thorins gaze softened at his wife´s words and he cupped her face with his hands. He stood up from his chair and sat down on the ground in front of his wife. 'If it means so much to you...but I cannot accompany you to the Grey Havens. My place is here, as the king.'

'I know.' Brann smiled sadly. 'With your permission I will leave tomorrow. I will not stay long, for I miss you already.'

Thorin smiled and suddenly widened his eyes in shock. 'Sweet Durin, am I supposed to take care of our daughters again?'

'You do not have to do this yourself, you know. Dis and Dwana will help you.' Brann smirked.

But Thorin shook his head. 'I am a king of Durins line. I have faced orc and goblins and have been victorious. I have built of a new home for my people in the Blue Mountains. I will manage three princesses.'

Brann smiled as she saw the panic in her husbands eyes.