Hello everyone. Not sure if any of you noticed, but I am currently going through A Tale to Tell and making some corrections to spelling, grammar, adding Khuzdul words, and in some instances fixing some scenes. Those chapters I will be working on in my spare time or when I have hit some writers blocks with this story.

Again, this chapter isn't really going to follow my normal format. Mostly because we are focusing on Fili and Sigrid's children.

Have your tissues ready. You're going to be needing them.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hobbit or LOTR events or characters.

Remember: Years are approximate and rounded. 10 years till LOTR events, and 3 more chapters to go till then!

Khuzdul.

Balder- 44 years old, looks 24.

Freya- 42 years old, looks 23.

Solen- 33 years old, 21.

Balder

Over the last two and a half years, Balder has been having to live without either of his parents. He understood that his amad was gone from this world. Yet, what Balder couldn't wrap his head around was why his adad left him and his siblings.

Today, Balder is in working in the smithy to finish up a special weapon for the queen. He wasn't sure about the design of this weapon, but with some help from the king, Balder was able to figure out how to make the design work. His blue eyes had lit up when he finally made the mold for the liquid metal that would become the weapon. The queen was pleased and had called the soon to be weapon a bat'leth. What she meant by naming it that, Balder didn't know but it truly was a one-of-a-kind weapon.

With his smith's apron on over his brown shirt and black pants, and the front blonde strands of hair braided back away from his face, Balder begins to heat one of the forge pokers. He will be needing it to puncture through the metal of the long, three foot, curved bladed to make three handles.

Once he has the poker set in the forge, Balder makes his way over to the large crate that houses the queens' weapon. Taking it out, Balder is careful to keep his hands away from the sharp curve of the weapon. He carries it over to the anvil in the center of the workroom and places it upon the anvil. Then he proceeds to go over to the forge to check on the poker.

"You know, for a minute there I could have sworn you were your adad." A cheery voice says from the doorway. "At least you aren't like your cousin, Frerin, who got caught with his pants down with a lassie in here."

Balder turns away from the forge to see that it is his uncle, Kili, who has spoken to him.

Kili is leaning up against the door frame wearing his typical dark colored traveling clothes. His hair is pulled back in its usual half ponytail; yet the tail is braided instead of loose.

"Well I'm not him." Balder grumbles out before turning back to the forge again. "I wouldn't abandon my children."

"He didn't abandon you or your siblings, Balder." Kili says as he enters the workroom fully. "He just needs some time to find himself since your amad died."

"Yeah well he was needed here. We were hurting too." Balder shouts at his uncle as he pulls the now hot poker out of the forge.

"Easy. Wouldn't want to you to burn yourself with that poker." Kili says with his hands up in a surrender like gesture. "Look. Your adad loved your amad very much. Just as much as he loves you and your siblings. Watching Sigrid die before his eyes was very difficult for him to accept. Hell, death itself is difficult to accept, but we all die eventually. Some faster than others."

"Now you're making excuses for adad. Everyone keeps making excuses for him." Balder shouts at Kili before stomping his way over to the anvil. Using his anger at his adad, Balder drives the poker into the metal making it hiss in protest.

"We aren't making excuses for him, Balder." Kili says softly to his angry nephew. Kili has never seen Balder this angry before to where he almost becomes a berserker. Thinking quickly of some way to get through to Balder, Kili comes up with an idea. "Have you ever heard what happened to your adad during the Battle of the Five Armies?'

Balder lets out a soft growl at his uncle's persistence to be in the workroom. "Of course I have. Aliena always told us those stories before bed."

Keeping his eyes focused on what he is doing, Balder hears Kili move towards one of the stools that sit near the water pump by the far left wall. Once the hole is big enough, Balder moves the poker to the next spot that needs a hole made.

"She gave you all the abridged version of the story." Kili says as he runs a hand through his own dark locks.

Balder looks away from his work, and gives Kili a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Let me tell you what really happened up on Ravenhill." Kili says before telling the truth of what happened to Fili.

Freya

In the library of Erebor, a young dam is searching through a large tome in a vain attempt to find a design for a piece of jewelry that she has been commissioned to make. Her curly brown hair is half pulled back by a single braid at the back of her head. Her warm, brown eyes scan the page before turning to the next.

"Freya!" Another young dam of Erebor calls out.

This causes several patrons of the library to make shushing sounds, which the dam ignores.

Looking up to see who called her name, Freya is surprised to see her friend Yuri coming towards the table that she is seated at.

"Yuri. I am surprised to see you here. Aren't you supposed to be helping Dori with his shop?" Freya says with a grin.

Yuri pulls out a chair next to Freya, and proceeds to sit down. This causes her purple skirt to her dress to puff out gently. Her sandy blonde hair is pulled back into several fancy braids that Dori had placed in her hair that morning. She has been staying with her two uncles since her amad, Tali, went to Moria to find out why Ori was no longer sending letters. That was over ten years ago, and no one has heard from Tali or Ori since.

"Uncle can handle it himself. He won't notice that I snuck off." Yuri giggles out. "Whatcha lookin' for?"

Freya lets out a sign before pushing the heavy book towards her friend. "I need to come up with a design for a piece that Master Nol wants done. It is supposed to be a window piece to help bring in new customers."

Yuri lets out a low whistle at the thought. "Damn. You must be one hell of a jeweler is Master Nol is givin' you this assignment."

"Yeah." Freya says softly. "But I don't know what to make. I thought about doing a necklace, but no one is buying fancy ones anymore. Then I thought about making a bracelet, but barely anyone wears one."

"You could always make a ring. Everyone needs a ring." Yuri says before closing the book with a loud thump.

"I don't know what to do." Freya says as she buries her face in her hands. "I feel so lost."

"You aren't lost, Freya."

"Ever since amad died and adad leaving the world feels like it is falling apart. Balder hardly talks to anyone, and if he does he yells. He spends his days in that damn smithy workroom of his. Then there is Solen who walks around in a daze nearly all of the time. He has barely spoken to myself or Balder." At this point, Freya is close to tears over the worry and frustration in her young life.

Yuri, seeing that her friend needs a shoulder to cry on, pulls Freya into a tight hug. "Oh Freya. I am sorry that you all are still grieving."

Freya allows herself to fall apart and cries into her friends shoulder. Never before in her life has Freya felt so much stress build up, and the floodgates on her usually checked emotions let it all flow free.

"Maybe we should go visit your amad in the burial chambers. Get some fresh flowers from the market to place on her tomb." Yuri whispers softly into Freya's hair as she rubs up and down on Freya's back.

"That... would... be nice." Freya hiccups before pulling away from Yuri's embrace. "Amad always loved the bluebell flowers that grow in the western fields outside of the mountain."

"Then it is settled then." Yuri says as she stands up from her chair and pulls Freya with her as she hurries away from the table. "We will buy some bluebells for your Amad's tomb from the markets."

The two dams make it as far as the hallway outside of the library before both are called for.

"Yuri. Lady Freya." Nori says as he catches up to the lasses once they stop to wait for him.

"Uncle Nori? What is it?" Yuri asks as she watches her uncle try to catch his breath.

"Lady Freya. Your Adad has returned."

Solen

Riding his grey pony out of Dale's main gates, the youngest son of Sigrid and Fili is slowly making his way back towards the mountain. He isn't in any big hurry since his siblings are busy with lives of their own. So his pony is barely doing a trot as they go down the road.

His once golden hair has turned to a very dark brown, which many in Dale says he looks a lot like his grandfather Bard. Solen has taken a page out of his uncle Kili's book, and leaves his hair loose with no braids to be found anywhere in his wavy locks. His brown eyes scan the horizons carefully. Brand, his young cousin, had warned him of the growing attacks on caravans by orc packs in the south. Solen makes sure to keep his long bow in hand while riding.

Not even a quarter of the way down the road, Solen notices a short, cloaked figure coming towards the road from the west. It is too short to be an elf from the Woodland Realm, and Solen knows that none of the men or women of Dale travel through the forest. So he decides to venture off of the road and heads towards the figure who is now making its way towards Erebor.

"Halt!" Solen says as his pony approaches the figure; his bow is drawn with an arrow ready to fly. "What business have you with Erebor?"

The figure stops and turns towards Solen and his pony. Pushing their hood back, a head full of golden blonde hair is revealed.

"Adad." Solen whispers as he is taken back by how gruff Fili looks.

Fili's blue eyes blink rapidly as he looks at the lad upon the pony. It takes him a bit before he realizes that this is his youngest son.

"Solen?" Fili says softly as he watches his son hop down from his pony.

Both father and son are quick to allow the other to pull them into a hug.

"You're back." Solen says as a few stray tears flow down his cheeks. "You're real and you're back."

"I am." Fili whispers into his son's hair. "Oh Mahal, how I have missed you all."

"Adad. Don't ever go away again. Please?" Solen says as he cries against Fili's shoulder.

"Not till I am old and gray." Fili says with a tearful chuckle. "How about we head home and see everyone?"

Solen nods his head as he backs out from the hug. He takes the reigns of his pony before the father and son duo make their way towards Erebor. As they walk Solen gives Fili an update as to all that has been going on inside the mountain.

Fili can't help but laugh at a particular piece of information that Solen has given him.

"How did Uncle Thorin take the news that Frerin had a roll in the hay with a dam?" Fili chuckles out.

"Well.." Solen says as he rubs the back of his head with the tip of his bow. "Let me just say all of Erebor knows what Frerin did. The past nine months both he and Inara have waited with baited breath. I guess they were expecting to hear from Dain that Frerin had ruined the lady's reputation. However, Dain did send a letter and no child was created from the escapade."

"I hope that Frerin has learned his lesson then." Fili says as he shakes his head with a smile on his face.

They reach the gates of Erebor, and the guards do not recognize Fili at first. When they do, they all bow and wish him well. A guard takes Solens' pony to the stables as the two of them head towards the royal halls.

As they come towards the doors of the Royal Halls, Fili starts to become nervous as he can hear that the whole family is in there. Yet before he can stop Solen from opening the doors, the lad has already made his way into the halls.

"Adad is back!" Solen shouts for everyone to hear.

Thorin, Inara, Kili, Tauriel, and Dis are the first to greet Fili as he enters.

"Welcome home." Dis says as she pulls Fili into a big hug. "I have missed you, Fili."

"I missed you too." Fili whispers into Dis's neck before she lets go of Fili.

"Nadad!" Kili says as he is next to pull Fili into a hug. "By Mahal, you stink! Did you forget to bathe?"

Fili slaps Kili on the back, hard before letting go of his nadadith. "I bathed just last week. Beorn was gracious enough to allow me to stay for a few days with him."

"Fili." Thorin says as he approaches his heir.

"Uncle."

"You left without letting anyone know." Thorin says with a serious voice and a stern look on his face.

"I know. But in my defense, Inara saw me leave." Fili says sheepishly.

Thorin moves closer to Fili, not giving the other dwarrow an idea of what to expect. Then Thorin pulls his sister-son into a big hug.

"Welcome home, Fili." Thorin whispers to Fili as he feels his nephew's body begin to shudder with relief.

Fili isn't sure why he is crying into Thorin's shoulder, but he keeps himself there as he feels the bodies of Dis, and Kili come to join the hug. The four of them stay like this for a short time as Tauriel and Inara shoo the rest of the family up to their chambers. The two of them know that the little family unit needs the comfort from one another, and doesn't want any of the children to ruin it.

Yet there is one who hasn't left the room. Balder. He is standing by the fireplace, watching the emotional display with a scowl on his face. If there is anyone who isn't thrilled to see Fili, it is Balder.

Inara is standing close by the small family unit and waits for them to let go of each other. Before she can speak, Dis is the first to ask Fili a question.

"Where have you been?" Dis asks as she pulls Fili towards a chair at the dining table. "Here. You can eat as you tell us." She quickly heads to the kitchen to grab a clean plate.

Fili finally notices that the family must have just finished supper when he arrived.

"There you are. Go ahead and fill your plate." Dis says as she hands her son the plate.

"Thanks amad." Fili gives Dis a smile before starting to fill his plate with pieces of roast, potatoes, rolls, cheese, and some fruits.

"So? Where have you been, nadad?" Kili asks as he sits down next to Fili.

"You were in the Shire for a time." Inara says as she sits down across from Fili.

"How did you know that?" Fili asks Inara with a questioning look.

"Bilbo sent me a letter." Inara replies.

"What letter?" Thorin asks in shock that Inara would keep something from him.

"Bilbo didn't want to be put in the middle of whatever downfall is going to happen. And I don't want to be either." Inara says giving Thorin a look that he knows that she will tell him why when they are alone.

"Yes I was in the Shire. I also was in the Blue Mountains to visit Adad." Fili looks down at the food at his plate before slowly bringing a piece of a dinner roll to his mouth.

Everyone goes silent for a time as they all understand. Once Fili finishes with his food, Dis takes the dirty plate away to the kitchen. Thorin looks towards the kitchen as though he is torn between letting Fili out of his sight or going to check on Dis. However, with one look to Inara, Thorin gets up from the table to make his way to check on Dis.

Kili sensing that Fili might need some time alone, wishes his nadad a goodnight before heading off to find Tauriel.

Inara, however, gets up from the table and walks over to where Fili is seated.

"Come with me." is all Inara says to Fili before walking towards the main doors.

Balder watches as his adad gets up and follows his aunt out of the Royal Halls. Seeing Fili follow Inara without question makes Balder suspicious, and so he follows them at a distance to see where they are going.

Inara leads Fili down to the royal burial chamber where Sigrid's tomb is located. Fili however stops just outside the door.

"Inara, I can't." Fili says as he realizes what Inara is trying to get him to do.

"You can, and you will. Fili, you have been running for too long." Inara says as he takes hold of Fili's hand. "I will be right here with you. The only way you will get closure is if you see it again."

Fili allows himself to be led into the chambers, and is shocked by what he sees. Sigrid's tomb is covered with many bluebells that have not yet wilted.

"How?" Fili asks with tears shining in his eyes.

"Tauriel and I have been making sure that Sigrid is not forgotten. And a little bird told me that Freya was in need of inspiration for a jewelry design and had stated that the bluebells were Sigrid's favorite flower. So, I purchased all of the bluebells for her. Besides, I don't think that white wildflowers would the right flowers for Sigrid." Inara says as she gives Fili's hand a squeeze before letting go of it.

"Thank you." Fili says as he tries hard to memorize the scene before him. "I don't know what to say."

"I think that there is someone else who needs to see you." Inara says before leaving Fili inside of the burial chambers. She has known that Balder had followed them, and she wants the father and son to reconnect. So as she makes her way down the hallway, Inara gives Balder a nod before continuing on back to the Royal Halls.

Balder isn't surprised that Inara knew that he followed them, but what shocks him is that she somehow knew where he had hidden himself in the shadows. Making his way into the burial chamber, Balder is taken by surprise to see all of the bluebells covering his amad's tomb. Kneeling besides her tomb is his adad, who is whispering against the stone.

"Why did you abandon us?" Balder angrily asks Fili.

"I didn't abandon you. I would never." Fili says as he steps away from Sigrid's tomb.

"But you left us. You left!" Balder rages at Fili.

Fili looks at his son and can see the rage, sorrow, and fear in the lad's eyes.

"Balder." Fili says softly as he approaches his son, who looks so much like him. Except for his facial features. Those belong to Sigrid.

"Don't you come near me or my siblings. We don't need you!" Balder shouts before turning his back to Fili.

Fili, however, isn't going to let Balder leave. Not when the lad is in so much pain. So Fili rushes towards Balder and grabs his son's arm. What Fili wasn't expecting is having Balder turn around and punch him in the jaw. Yet this doesn't stop Fili from pulling his son into an embrace.

Balder, angry that his father is trying to hold him like some weak lass, keeps throwing punches where ever he can. He is surprised that his adad hasn't hit back or even try to defend himself. And it isn't long till tears find their way out of Balder's eyes. Knowing that he can't hold it back any longer, Balder allows himself to break.

Noticing the slack in Balder's body, Fili pulls his son close as the lad finally breaks down sobbing. He helps guide his son to the floor, where he pulls Balder into his lap and begins to rock him as if Balder was a little dwarfling.

"Let it out, Kidhuzel. I've got you." Fili whispers into Balder's hair. A small noise alerts Fili that the two of them aren't alone. He looks up to the door and sees Freya and Solen standing there. He gently waves them over, and soon finds himself holding all of three of his children.

So there it is folks. Fili is back and having to deal with the aftermath of him leaving. I got the idea of Sigrid liking Bluebells from one of my friends. The bluebells I have envisioned for Sigrid's tomb is called the English Bluebell flower.

Also, the "special weapon" of Inara's will be making a complete appearance in the LOTR events. I just couldn't help myself on adding a Klingon Bat'leth to this story.

The next chapter will be back to the normal format. Be prepared. Erebor is going to be having some major changes coming.

The chapter after that one will be similar in format to this one, where we will be seeing Tauriel and Kili's children. As a little treat for you all, to keep you in suspense, Kelda will be in Rivendell with Legolas, Lorien, and Aragorn.

Selene