In the meantime, Belladonna was back in her father´s old room, together with Bilbo. The hobbit kept her company since she had fled once already and since he wanted to. Their relationship had gone from good to worse, but their connection was still strong. Nevertheless, none of the two wanted to admit that there was something more than friendship looming behind their strong fassades.

Bilbo had tried to talk to Belladonna for the first moments, but he quickly gave up. Belladonna did not even look at him, either out of shame or out of rage, he did not know. Deep in her heart she knew that she was sick, but the sickness still clouded her mind. She did not fight anyone anymore, but nor did she speak to anyone. She was afraid that she would only hurt the people around her even more than she already had. A part of her was angry at Bilbo for judging her. She could see it in his eyes. The hobbit of all people should know the effect of gold on people, he had his ring. The ring which he barely gave out of hand and which he guarded like a dragon his gold. Belladonna sighed. They were the same, two souls lost in the mist of gold. Or was it more?

'I overheard the guards talking. We will be at war?' Belladonna finally asked Bilbo.

'Yes.' Bilbo eyed her cautiously. 'An army of orcs just crossed the borders to Mirkwood. They will be here tomorrow.'

'I have never witnessed war.' Belladonna frowned. 'My parents did. But none of them ever talked to me about it.'

Bilbo nodded in understanding. 'War is nothing people would talk about to their children.'

'How do you know?' Belladonna cocked an eyebrow at him. 'You said yourself that you never witnessed war. How do you know how it feels?'

'The Shire may not have been in war for ages, but we know loss and grief.' Bilbo closed his eyes and tried to forget his mothers tears and his fathers pained cries.

'Tell me.' Belladonna asked and looked at Bilbo with hard eyes. Bilbo knew that she thought that hobbit could impossibly have endured much grief in their lives. The Shire was indeed the most peaceful place in Middle Earth. But there had been a time when it was not.

'A few years ago, the Shire was overrun by orcs and wargs.' Bilbo told the princess with a heavy sigh. 'We call it the Fell Winter. The Brandywine river was frozen and the orc filth crossed our borders. It had happened before already, but never had winter been that long and harsh. This time the orcs were many and the rangers from the north were too few. Many hobbits died that winter...my father was one of them. A warg had attacked him on his way home. He had managed to escape home, but his wounds were too many. He died in my mothers arms.'

Bilbo did not dare to look at Belladonna, for he feared that he would not see any feeling in her usually soft eyes and he could not bare that coldness.

'My mother never was the same again. She died of a broken heart a few years later.' Bilbo ended and heard Belladonna sigh.

'She loved him alot.' Belladonna said emotionless. 'My father was never the same after my mothers death. But he went on with his life. Uncle Dain said that a part of him died along with her, but her still lingering inbetween the worlds might ease the pain of her passing. My father is strong, he would never give up. Would he?'

Bilbo looked up into Belladonnas face and saw the young princess she was for the first time in days. Her eyes showed her fear and her insecurity and the golden gleam had faded a bit. Her worry for her father had begun to bring her back.

'Thorin will not give up. Never.' Bilbo decided to give her another push. 'Although your words hurt him deeply.'

The hobbit watched Belladonna frown. He could see her struggle between stubborn ignorance and guilt.

'Your father is a good dwarf. He may be proud and stubborn, but he has a good heart. A golden heart if you will. He is a born leader and a good king to his people.' Bilbo pushed even further. 'We all followed him through all of Middle Earth to reclaim his mountain. No other could have moved me to leave my home and my garden. He did not deserve the words you threw at him.'

'He failed.' Belladonna pressed out, but Bilbo could see that the madness was beginning to fade even more. Belladonna loved her father, she just needed someone to remind her.

'He may have made mistakes in the past, but so do all people.' Bilbo looked down to his feet. 'I also failed.'

'How did you fail?' Belladonnas golden gleam grew stronger. 'You found the arkenstone. You did what was expected from you.'

'I failed to keep you safe.' Bilbo gathered his strength and looked Belladonna in the eye. 'I failed to earn a place in your heart beside your family and the gold. And now there is no place for me anymore. Only for the gold.'

For a moment Belladonna only managed to gap at Bilbo. She had not expected the forward words from the hobbit. Did he love her? He had not said that, but she was certain that he had meant it.

Oh my goodness, he loves her!

Brann sat on the floor beside her daughter and cupped her face in her hands, grinning. She has listened to their conversation and had guessed the hobbits plan to lure her daughter out of the madness by calling out to her heart. But she had never expected that.

Thorin will kill him.

Brann rubbed her hands as she let her presence be drawn to her husband. He was in the treasury.

#

It was Dain who found Thorin in the treasury, franctically searching for something in the piles of gold. Frowning with worry, the lord of the Iron Hills approached his cousin.

'Can I help you with anything, cousin?' he asked and sighed in relief as Thorin turned around. There was no sign of the goldsickness in his eyes.

'I am looking for the mithril shirt my father gave me when I was a dwarfling.' Thorin told him and continued to search his surroundings. 'It must be here somewhere.'

'I remember. Thrain gave it to you when you were twelve.' Dain grinned. 'No offense cousin, but don´t you think that you are too fat for this shirt now?'

'Fat?!' Thorin frowned as he heard Brann laugh in his head. She must have returned to him a few moments ago, for he had not felt her presence before. What a timing. 'I am not fat!'

Thorin had to fight a smirk as he heard Brann laugh even harder.

Dain roared of laughter and Thorin gave him a playful punch on the arm. It was a nice feeling to laugh again, but Thorin also worried about the battle to come. As a king and leader of his people, he knew that it was also essential to not fall into despair before a battle. Family was the best thing to keep a warriors mind of the horrors that were to follow.

Speaking of family, the brothers Ri passed the corner of the neighbouring piles of gold and held up the item Thorin had looked for.

'Is that it?' Nori asked and Thorin cocked his eyebrows at the spy and occasional thief.

'Mmhhhmmmm.' Thorin snatched the mithril shirt out of Noris hands, but smiled at his companion. He trusted Nori, he always had.

'A truly kingly gift for the hobbit.' Dori stated and smiled at Thorins surprised expression. 'Well, nobody else fits into this shirt anymore. Even our youngest, my dwarfling brother Ori, would not fit into this.'

Ori looked embarassed to be called a dwarfling brother, but he only rolled his eyes at his mother hen of a big brother.

'I thought you told the hobbit that he should not take part of the battle?' Dain asked Thorin.

'I got to know the hobbit quite well during the quest.' Thorin smirked. 'Just in case that he should not listen to me, I want to know him safe. In fact, we should all make good use of the ereborian armory.'

'My king, the armor here are for noble dwarves.' Dori looked around.

'Then they will serve their purpose.' Thorin smiled at the brothers. 'Every single one of my company is worth more to me than the whole noble class of Erebor. When I called they answered.'

Dain lowered his gaze and nodded. He knew that it had be wrong to not support Thorins quest. But he was there now and he would regain his cousins trust. The brothers Ri bowed before their king and went to get the others. There was only little time until the battle would start.

#

The brave and loyal company of Thorin Oakenshield stood on Erebors lookout on the morning of the battle. Elven scouts had already spotted the orc army and they knew that they had only little time left. Thorin stood inbetween his nephews and the three Durins looked to the horizon. Every dwarf, elf or man who laid eyes upon them could only see three proud and majestic descendants of the great Durin and would gaze upon them in wonder.

Kilis eyes locked upon the elven camp every now and then. He had had the chance to speak to Tauriel before he and Fili had rode out to get Dain, but he had not seen her since. He longed to see her again, to innocently touch her arm or even her hair. He did not worry about her. She was a fierce warrior and would hold her ground in battle. She would be there after the battle, of that Kili was sure. Kili tried to think about a possible future, although he did not want to let his mind wander that far. The prince smirked as he thought about his uncle's and his mother's faces when they learned that he had fallen in love with one of Thranduils elves. His mther would be furious, but in the end she would not keep him from his love. His uncle would go ballistic, but he would also give in in the end. His love to Brann had also been one of a kind and he would not judge Kili for following his heart. And if he would, Brann would give him a hard time, Kili knew. Kili smiled as he thought about his late aunt. She was his uncles heart, his conscience and his life. He had always wondered how she could influence the strong dwarf that much, but now that he had met his love, he understood. Tauriel made him a better dwarf, too. He would be the prince his peole needed him to be and he would try to install stable diplomatic relations between Erebor and Mirkwood after all of this was over.

Fili looked at his brother in worry. Kili was not focused and he looked upon the elven camp with a dreamy expression more than once. That his little brother, Thorins nephew, would fall for an elf one day was still amusing to Fili. Even as his older brother he had not seen that coming. Fili did not hate the elves as much as Thorin did, but he strongly disliked them. The elves of Rivendell were kind and supportive, but Thranduils elves had been more than a nuissance, they had been a threat. They had imprisoned them and they had used Belladonna to get to Thorin. Even if they would all survive the battle, Fili could see no stable diplomatical future for Erebor and Mirkwood. Thranduils son was not like his father, but unlike Fili, Legolas would not inherit his throne in the next hundred if not thousand years. Fili would sit on Erebors throne after Thorin, but it seemed as if Thranduil would never stand down as king. And even though prince Legolas was many hundred years old, Fili could not see him as a king. He could not even see himself as king on Erebors throne. Thorin had trained him as his heir right from the beginning, but Fili had never really wished to be king. He had accepted it as his fate and duty, but his heart was not drawn to Erebor. The Blue Mountains were his home and his heart lay there. Of course, his uncle´s stories had affected him and he had dreamt about reclaiming Erebor one day. But now that he was in the newly reclaimed dwarven city, he felt his expectations fade. Erebor was a ruin. It would take months if not even years to rebuild it. Erebor would never be his home.

Even Thorin, who had longed for this day to come did not seem too overwhelmed by the newly reclaimed mountain. But the fact that Belladonna was suffering under Durins curse weighed heavily on the kings mind. Fili and Kili had not seen Belladonna since they had parted in Laketown, but they had heard about their cousins madness. Kili had nearly given Belladonna a piece of his mind as he heard what she had said to their uncle, but Fili had held him back, for he knew that Belladonna was unreachable for them at the moment. Bilbo was with her, maybe the hobbit could manage what they could not.

At Filis side stood Balin and Dwalin. Balin was silent and calm, but Dwalin twitched nervously. The old warrior longed for battle. He longed to fight at his kings side and die if necessary. He thought about his lovely daughter and her family, but he knew that Dwana would be proud and happy for him if he died an honorable death in battle. But Dwalin worried for his king. He knew that Thorin desperatly wanted to see Brann again and he only hoped that Thorin would not search death in this battle. Erebor needed him, Erebor needed Thorin. Fili was too young for the throne and Dain was a good dwarf, but Dwalin did not want him to be king for a kingdom as important as Erebor. Dain had not supported their quest and most of Thorins company had not forgotten that. Dains wife, Mya, on the other hand...Dwalin smirked. He highly respected Dain, but Mya was the true ruler out of the two. She would have supported them without second thoughts and would bring Erebor to newfound glory, of this Dwalin was sure. Thorin Stonehelm would rule the Iron Hills after his fathers death, with Dwalins daughter at his side. Dwalin loved his daughter more than anything, but he also knew that Dwana was a good wife to Thorin III, but would struggle as a lady. She was a great warrior and fierce, but no royal material. But maybe, her love to Thorin III would make her the best lady Thorin III could ask for. Dwalin hooked his thumbs into his belt and sighed. At this point he could only hope that everyone dear to him would be reunited in the halls of their fathers one day.

Balin had dreamed of reclaiming Erebor since the dragon had took his home from him. He was born and raised in Erebor and the green marble and golden shine of the mines had been in his mind every moment since the loss of the mountain. He was home now, but he was still restless. Balin was a proud dwarf and he had watched the dwarves lose one kingdom afte the other in the past two centuries. The children of Mahal were strong warriors and the loss of their kingdoms had hurt their pride. Balin had never been a particullar prideful dwarf, but he felt the losses of Gundabad and Moria like a stabwound to his dwarven heart. They had reclaimed Erebor and they would gain new strength. One day, they would also reclaim their mithril mines in Moria. One day the dwarven culture would rise to its old glory, on eye level with the culture of the elves. But first they had to win a battle.

The brothers Ri stood close, all of them clad in shining armor. All three of them silently swore to protect each other and that none of them would be left on the battlefield, dead or alive. Ori knew that Dori would never leave his side, even ten thousand orcs would not change that. And both, Ori and Dori, knew that Nori would slip away once in a while to protect them from afar. They were a good team and they were ready to die for each other as well as for their king. None of them was of royal blood, but Thorin had trusted them with this quest. Nori had been his spy since he had become king of the Blue Mountains and Brann had also trusted him with her life. The queen had supported young Ori in his wish to become a scribe. Brann had never met Dori, for the oldest Ri had worked night and day as a merchant to bring home enough money for his two brothers. Their parents had left them with a huge amount of depts after their deaths and Dori would not let his brothers suffer for this. Their father had gambled alot and their mother had not had the strength to oppose him. They had both died of old age and had left Dori to take care of the family. He had done so in the past and he would do in battle.

The Ur brothers did not fear battle. Even though they were no warriors, but toymaker, cook and miner, they had fought valiantly at Thorins side during the quest and would continue to do so afterwards. Bofur had developped a strong friendship to the hobbit and if Bilbo should decide to fight nonetheless, Bofur would protect his smaller friend with all his might. Bombur also valued the hobbit, for he saw a brother in cuisine in him. Bifur only stared at the horizon and right into the rising sun. He had nothing to lose. His wife and his unborn son were already waiting for him in Mandos Halls and he was sure that he would join them soon.

Oin and Gloin were much more worried about their future. Both had a wife and family in the Blue Mountains and they wished to see them again and welcome them to Erebor. Especially Gloin missed his wife and little Gimli. Orc mutant. Gloin was still mad at the elven prince for insulting his precious little son like that, but he was sure that Gimli would repay him for that treatment one day.

One day.

Prepare for battle in the next chapter...