Thorin took another deep breath and looked towards Fili who had put his arm around his wife's shoulder and looked down at his boots. Poppy held her baby son who was wrapped in a blanket in her arms and tried to calm him down because all the noise had startled him. Thorin recognised the blanket as the one Fili had had as an infant and smiled. This was indeed a blanket fitting for a prince.

The dwarf king looked at the crowd again and cleared his throat. "Fili, would you come to me please?"

Fili looked at his wife, who frowned at him, nervously and slowly went towards the throne.

"Kneel down please." Thorin said and took a small knife from his pocket. The whole crowd gasped when he suddenly cut open the strings Fili had used to fasten the braids in his hair. They didn't have any meaning and he had just put them in to keep his hair from falling out of his face. After that he started loosing the braids and brushing his nephews hair.

Dis finally calmed down because she finally realised that Thorin didn't want to harm her son and went to her daughter-in-law to comfort her. Poppy looked pale and had tears in her eyes because she didn't understand what was going on. The children looked scared as well and cling to their mother's dress.

When Fili's hair was finally smooth and shining, Thorin started putting the braids that marked him as a member of the Line of Durin back into his hair. When he was done he fastened them with Fili's old beads that Balin had kept safe in a small box all the time.

"Stand up, Fili. But please stay here." Thorin said with a soft smile. "I'm sorry for what I did to you, Fili."

Then Thorin turned towards the crowd again. "So, now everything is how it should have been all the time again. But that's not why I asked you to come here. The goldsickness had turned me into a monster. I have hurt those I care about the most and the whole of Erebor had to suffer because of my greed. My mind may be clear at the moment but I worry that the sickness might return. You deserve a better king."

Thorin took another deep breath and looked at Fili again. "Fili, I want you to be king. We will all help you to make sure that you still have enough time for your family. Erebor deserves a fair and kindhearted king who cares about the people and not just gold though. You are such a dwarf and I couldn't imagine anyone who might be a better king. You don't have to become king immediately but will you accept my offer?"

Fili looked flabbergasted and turned towards Poppy and his mother. Then he swallowed. "I have a question, my King."

Thorin flinched a bit at Fili's formal tone but nodded.

"Poppy is my wife and I love her. Although she will die much earlier than I, I will never marry again especially not to produce an heir. Will you accept that?" Fili asked with a frown.

Thorin nodded immediately. "Of course, Fili. I tried to force you into a marriage once but I will certainly never do that again. And if you were king, I couldn't force you to do anything anyways."

Fili tried to smile and then looked at Poppy again silently asking her about her opinion. When Poppy nodded, he turned to his uncle again. "Yes, Thorin. I agree."

Thorin sighed in relief and embraced his nephew. "You'll be a fine king, the king Erebor deserves."

Then he turned to Poppy. "Would you come here with your children please?"

Poppy nodded and looked at Dis with a frown. The dwarrowdam smiled at her and helped her to bring to children to Thorin. The latter smiled at them and asked his sister to stay with them as well. Then he opened another box. "I have made these beads for Lili, Vili, Tulip and Ruby. If you don't mind, I'd like to put the Durin braid in their hair as well."

Fili and Poppy agreed and asked their children if they wanted that. They all cheered and so Thorin and Dis started braiding their hair.

When they were done Thorin opened a small box that still laid in the box. It contained a few beautiful Mithril beads. "These are the beads the heir to the throne wore on important occasions. They had been lost when Smaug took Erebor from us but we found them again. Fili, I want your heir to have them."

Fili frowned. "My heir? I don't who will be my heir."

Thorin looked at the baby in Poppy's arms. "Why? Your son of course! I think Vili would have some trouble being king but little Thorin would certainly make a fine king. I want him to be your heir, Fili."

Everyone in the room looked at Thorin with wide eyes. "But he isn't a proper dwarf." Fili stuttered.

"I'm sure he will become a fine lad and that's all that matters. He looks like a dwarf and so I'm sure he'll be accepted. Also we shouldn't forget that we wouldn't even be here in Erebor without a very brave hobbit." Thorin explained and smiled at Bilbo. "And I would definitely still be goldsick if Poppy hadn't pulled me out of it. We owe the hobbits a lot and I think making a Dwobbit heir to the throne is a fine way to pay tribute to them."

Fili and Poppy as well as many others had tears in their eyes when Thorin finished his speech and the crowd cheered to show that they agreed with their king. Only one person was furious and left the room silently with an evil smile on her face.

Runa and Runor looked at each other sadly. They were sure that they wouldn't be allowed to be around their friends anymore once Fili was king.

Fili turned towards the people of Erebor. "I'm happy that you want me as your future king despite everything that has happened. And it makes me even more happy that you even accept my son as my heir. I certainly hadn't expected that. Thank you!" When he wrapped his arm around Poppy and kissed her cheek, everyone cheered again.

Meanwhile Thorin had asked Vili if he was angry about his decision but the little boy said that he didn't mind. He was happy as long as could be with his family. Thorin chuckled and ruffled his hair. Then he handed the pouch with the beads to Fili. "I think Thorin's hair is still to short to be braided but I want you to have them."

The crowd cheered again and Thorin announced a feast for everyone in the evening. Then he asked Fili and his family to follow them.

They stopped in the royal wing in front of the King's quarters. Thorin opened the door and smiled. "Even if you're not king yet, I want you to live here from now on. The rooms have been renovated recently and I hope you like it."

When they entered the room Poppy gasped; she hadn't expected the King's rooms to be that huge. There they would finally have enough space for all of them. She also realised that Thorin had tried to decorate every room similar to a hobbit hole with comfortable furniture, carpets and flowers everywhere.

"I hope you like it." Thorin asked and watched the children running around.

"It's beautiful! Thank you." Poppy answered and smiled happily.

Thorin sighed in relief. "I didn't want anyone of you to know and so I tried to remember what Bilbo's home looked like. There will also be handrails everywhere in the royal wing soon to allow Vili to visit his grandmother or me without you having to worry all the time."

"That's a wonderful idea!" Fili answered with a smile.

"I would like to show you something else as well." Thorin said and went towards the bedroom. There a door opened towards a huge balcony with flower beds, small trees and a picnic area.

Poppy had tears in her eyes and ran to Thorin to hug him. "Thank you! Youcan't imagine how much this means to me." She said and kissed his cheek.

"That's why I wanted you to move her as soon as possible. The heir's rooms only have interior walls and I was sure you would like that. Now you can be outdoors as much as you like." Thorin said with a smile. "We can go to Dale soon and then you can choose the flowers you'd like to have here."

They thanked Thorin again and then he left them to get used to their new home and to change for the feast.

Fili smiled at his wife and the children and pulled her into a tight embrace. He still felt like he was dreaming.

Poppy was happy too and kissed him. Then she went to Daisy to tell her about everything that had happened.

A few hours later everyone met for the feast. There was lots of delicious food and ale. Fili and his family were surrounded by Bilbo and the members of Thorin's company who were happy that Fili was finally officially back among them. Even Dain came to him and told him that he accepted Thorin's decision and that he'd support him.

Later the dwarves danced with the children while Poppy went to a more private area of the hall to nurse her son. On her way there she saw Kili standing behind a pillar. She smiled at him but he didn't react.

Poppy frowned but didn't say anything. She sat down on a staircase and turned away from Kili to feed Thorin. She thought about everything that had happened that day and smiled.

Suddenly someone pushed the hobbit towards the floor and threw himself over her to cover her body with his. The person screamed in pain and then collapsed on top of her. Poppy shrieked in fear and because she had grazed her face.

Poppy looked at her son who was screaming but seemed to be uninjured. She tried to get up but then saw two arrows sticking out of the dwarf on top of her. She worried that she might hurt him even more and started screaming for help.