Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognise.

A/N: I apologise this chapter ran away with me a bit so is longer than I thought it was going to be! If there are spelling mistakes or words that don't quite look right I apologise :)

Hopefully this should clear up some of the questions from around the fight for the throne :)

Chapter 21

Daín POV

I followed Dwalin in to the throne room with my most trusted captains following after me, I frowned as I looked up at the throne. I had been expecting to see Thorin lounging regally on it, but instead there was a woman. I looked at Dwalin, but he just moved to stand behind her, guarding her even though she ignored him. She looked up and suddenly I found myself staring at a very familiar, but different set of green eyes than I remembered. "My lady Ariana." I said bowing. "How are you cousin?" I asked taking in the bruising and wounds that I could see, wondering how she had got them. "I am well thank you, Lord Daín, I trust your journey was uneventful?" She asked and I shrugged, "As much as can be expected in these times." There was a shift of movement behind me and one of the captains spoke, "Where is the King?"

Dwalin glared down at him and Ariana turned her gaze to him. "My brother is currently unable to take the throne. I have invoked the right of stewardship by combat and won. Until such a time as my brother ceases to be under the influence of gold sickness, I am in charge. If you have a problem with that you are more than welcome to say so now." She spoke with so much authority I really did wonder if she wasn't made to be sat on a throne. When no one spoke she nodded and rose stiffly to walk towards me, "Thank you for coming cousin. We will be holding council in here in just before dinner, the elves will be joining us so I'll give you some time to settle in and get used to the idea that we will be working with elves. I would also ask that you stay clear of the treasury, Thorin is a little dagger happy at the minute." She said, walking past us up to the battlements and Dwalin led us out of the room.

I turned to my friend and asked, "Is Thorin really that bad?" He turned to look at me then gestured towards Ariana, "Do you remember when you first came here and met Queen Ariana?" I nodded, remembering how one of the soldiers had come close to dying at a Durin blade. "Aye, ye couldnae get the brothers away from her." I wondered what this had to do with Thorin and his gold sickness. Dwalin paused, "She invoked trial by combat. Who do you think gave her those wounds? She only had one to challenge." He said and I stopped and stared at him, Thorin had done that to his beloved sister, the child he had once professed he would rather die for than hurt. Dwalin nodded at my look and led me down to the cavernous hall, showing me where my tent had been set up for me.

I nodded my head in thanks and moved in to the tent to think. Every Durin male had been entwined around Ariana's little finger when she had been here as a child and even my father had fallen for her charms by the time we had left the mountain. Back then I had had no doubt that any one of them would have gladly ripped out his own heart if it meant sparing her pain and until I had arrived in the throne room I had still believed it. Now if Thorin could break bonds, promises and his sister's heart, what could he do to our newly reclaimed homeland and her people. I vowed then, as I sat in my chair drinking from the mug of ale I had been brought, that what ever decisions she made I would back them up, completely. I knew that anything she did would be in the best interests of our people and she had looked so right on the throne, that I doubted many would contest her stewardship.

There was movement at the edge of the tent and I turned, "Forgive me, my Lord. I've been sent to inform you that the meeting will be starting shortly." A child said and I nodded, barely registering the curly haired boy leave. I was not happy that I would have to work with the sodding woodland sprite and his kin, but if they kept the mountain in the hands of the Durin line then I would begrudgingly do it. I wondered how well Ariana was taking having to work with elves after what they had done to her. I checked that I was as presentably as I could be, that all my braids were properly arranged and that I wasn't carrying stray bits of food in my beard, I was in Erebor and I would not be caught lacking the proper dress of the Queens Kin. I moved out of the tent, adjusting the hammer on my back as I walked with my captain's back up to the throne room.

I stood at the side of the table that had been set up for us to plan the battle out, a map of the area surrounding the base of the mountain spread out on top of it, the elves that were here didn't seem to agree with Gandalf that there was even an army coming. Truthfully I wouldn't have either if Ariana hadn't believed, but she was kin and if she said something was coming, then chances were something had to be coming. My captains grumbled softly next to me about having to work with elves. True I wanted to work with the elves and especially their King about as much as I wanted to live without meat and ale for the rest of my life, but they were a necessary evil.

The men that had come to represent the lake people were glancing around and although the younger one, their leader, seemed to be agreeing with what the elves said, I had a feeling that he would ultimately agree with Ariana. We were now just waiting for the representatives from Thorin's company and then we could begin, Ariana was sat on my left with two open spaces between us on her left sat the two men, then Gandalf and the elves were facing her with my captains to my right. The doors opened and Dis' boys walked down the aisle, closer than most brothers would walk. I could hear a few of my captains muttering about how the younger one had no beard, but they wisely kept their voices down, we had heard how protective she was over the boys. If Ariana could best Thorin in a fight, my captains didn't stand a chance.

The boys sat down with the elder one sat next me, he turned and nodded his head to acknowledge me. I replied in kind and then we began to plan. Ariana stayed mostly silent, simply watching us as we planned. As we were arguing about the placement of the archers her voice rang out, "I would rather see some archers along the battlements, Bard any men you have that use a bow and then we can combine dwarfish and Elvish numbers with that. Having the extra support while on the battlefield would be a comfort." She said and the man, Bard seemed to agree. One of my captains grunted, "Who would over see this little group? I'll be damned if any of my dwarves take order from a pointy-eared bastard."

The two boys next to me froze, watching their aunt, who merely tucked her hair behind her ears, revealing the sharp point to them along with amount of piercings. "Your dwarves will be following someone with pointy ears whether they like it or not. I am no elf and I hold little love for them, but I will not tolerate such rudeness to them." She snapped out and my captain muttered an apology. She turned back to the table, "I will confer with Bard, Lord Daín and King Thranduil at a later point as to who will lead the archers." She sat back in her chair, letting us continue to plan, only injecting her opinion every now and then.

We reached a tentative agreement at the end of the meeting and retired back down to the hall that was being used by all the races, as the living quarters. I agreed with Ariana on this as the walkways around the original living areas were looking to be cracked or completely broken. We had brought some food with us, the elves had brought more as they had been providing the lake men with supplies. There had been some extra food with the arrival of the Lady Galadriel and Lord Elrond's caravans, allowing us all to eat a good meal. There was not much in the way of tables so you sat where you could find room, a table had been salvaged from somewhere and the three elves rulers, Gandalf and myself sat up at the table. Balin sat beside me with a chair next to him for Ariana.

I looked at him when she didn't appear immediately, he sighed. "Do not hold out hope that she will sit with us Lord Daín." I looked at him, turning when I caught sight of Ariana's tunic, she had left her furs somewhere; she moved thought the crowd and sat down on the floor with several others, many of them from the town on the lake, the princes were sat with her as were two elves. I looked over at Balin, "She will not elevate herself any more than she has to over the people around her. Yes she is our ruler at the moment, but she needs reminders of the good in the world, I'm afraid we may have broken her of that when she entered the mountain to fight Thorin." I looked over at him and he shook his head.

He looked sadly over at her, "We once promised her that we would not abandon her, Dwalin vowed to walk through dragon fire for her, Thorin said he would guard her and fight to protect her, to keep her near him. Since entering this mountain he has turned on all of us, but I think the ultimate betrayal is to Ariana. We all suspected that the gold would hold sway, but I think Ariana wanted to hope that he could be strong enough. To have him turn on her, it has broken her in a way that previous trials have not." Balin told me, pausing as the room fell silent and nearly every pair of eyes rested on Ariana. "Would you like to repeat what you just said about your queen again?" The dark haired boy, Kíli I think asked a nearby dwarf.

I studied him and found him to be one of the Ironfist clan, not one of my men. I shook my head to Balin, I didn't invite him, he must have joined the tail end of my warriors. I signed out and he nodded. The dwarf scoffed, "Or what ya little runt? Going to skewer me with you pretty arrows? Go on show us how much elf yer have in ye." I saw Kíli flinch slightly, some of his confidence faltering. The dwarf grinned gleefully, it only dimming slightly when Ariana stood up. "My nephew asked you a question. Would you like to repeat what you said about me again or do you lack the balls to do so now that you have my attention?" I could see various members of the company around the hall reaching for weapons, as well as a few elves.

The dwarf scoffed, "What are you going to do about what it? You ain't a real queen, you ain't even a member of the line of Durin." He spat out and she smirked, "I am actually, when King Thrór adopted me he used a blood adoption potion that bound me to the line, making me a child of Durin. I am every bit a member of the line as Kíli is." She told him, Kíli moving to stand next to her proudly. "Well that ain't a lot then is it, little Dwelf that he is. Clearly his mother slept around. Probably why he and his brother are so close, always touching, there's not much of kinship between them." Every one froze at that comment as Fíli stood as well, drawing a wicked blade from his waist. "What did you call my mother?" The words were said softly, but you could feel the danger dripping from them. The dwarf smirked, "Mabar barazâl." I flinched as the Khuzdul for whore was spoken.

The air seemed to crackle as Ariana raised a hand to stop everyone else from attacking and walked forward, towards the dwarf. "First you sneak into my mountain, then you insult me. Both of those I could forgive as I care more for a decaying warg's ass than I do about what your opinion is of me. But then you have the gall to insult my nephews and then my sister. I will not stand for that." Her voice dropped, her tone becoming flat and the air becoming cold. There was a wind that whipped around the room, chilling all of us to the bone, like someone had leeched all the heat from the room. The dwarf laughed. "Oh will you not? And what can a little trickster like you do about it? I heard that your magic isn't anything special." I heard several of the men of the lake groan and shake their heads.

He smirked and drew a dagger from his waist. "I'll kill you and the heir prince's pretty little toy, killing him as he tries to help. Then I'll find the mad true heir and slit his pompous throat, paving the way for my Lord to be King." He cackled and Fíli was handing a small sword to Kíli. Ariana just looked at him, the floor beneath her feet glowing, the colour flickering and changing, but always bright. "You dare stand there and gloat about killing my family! You dare to think that after that I would let you live? You dare to challenge me? You are no match for our weakest warriors, let alone my nephews. You will leave my mountain now." The glowing lights on the floor shooting out from her and up into the walls of the mountain, we stayed silent as we heard rocks grinding, grating and what sounded like falling.

The dwarf staggered back as Ariana grabbed hold of his throat and lifted him off the floor, despite not being much taller; striding out of the room and out of sight. There was silence in the room, until the small child from earlier entered and asked, "Would anyone mind explaining why Ariana just threw a dwarf out of the mountain after cutting off his beard?" One of the little children that Ariana had been sat with spoke, "Because he was mean and said some not nice things to the Queen. He said he was going to kill a lot of people." The small man turned to look at the boys and walked over to them. "Is everyone ok though?" They nodded and looked at him, "Weren't you down in the kitchen's Bilbo?" He nodded, "I think you may need to see what I was coming to tell you about. I take it Ariana was responsible?" He asked and we all moved to follow him out of the room, gasping as we found hallways that had before we entered the room been rubble, where now clean and mended.

We all wandered into the antechamber near the stone doors, looking up at a noise above us. There stood in bathed in the light from the moon and stars stood Ariana, staring out into the night. I wondered if she knew what she had done, I would be very surprised if she didn't. Kíli darted up past us all, up to Ariana and simply stood beside her, following her along the battlements. I noticed as the others turned to go back to the hall, but I stayed watching the pair a little longer. I started to walk towards them as Ariana wavered and slumped into Kíli, a staff appearing in her right hand as she tried to straighten. Clearly she had used too much of her power today and looking around the mountain as I walked back, realising that it looked like it had before the dragon had arrived, it was clear to see how.

I sat down at the table silent as I marvelled at the sheer power that my little cousin had in her, that she could repair an entire mountain and still be standing was astounding. Clearly Gandalf and the Elves thought so too as they conversed to my right, in Westron of all things, obviously not thinking that anyone could and was listening. "By the Valar. I knew you thought she had immense power, but I didn't think it was this much." Galadriel said and Gandalf shook his head, "You said yourself, my lady. Just the whisper of magic she leaves behind her is a heady thing, I truly did not realise myself she had this much power."

There was a noise as the Elf King seemed to catch his goblet on his plate. "She had such power as a child. She could repel the gold sickness and see the past, along with glamour's at the tender age of 7. I am truly not surprised she is this powerful." He paused, whispering, "Stars, she was beautiful in her anger." I looked over as Balin tensed next to me, looking down the table at him. "What is it Balin?" I asked, confused at both the comment and the reaction. "Bilbo made a suggestion earlier that Ariana's one was an elf that was why she took the betrayal badly as a child, also why she reacted so negatively while being imprisoned in their dungeons. She does not like being caged at the best of times, but at the beginning of our stay in the cells, she seemed to shrink before our eyes. Bilbo said the red-haired elf over there began to move Ariana as we slept after that, until she was led to a part of the dungeons he couldn't reach. I think I have just found who may be on the other end of that bond."

I stared at him, surely he could not mean the Elf King. He nodded as I signed out, The King, and I sighed along with him. "Well that will not be an easy explanation to any of her kin, nor will he have an easy courtship." I muttered and Balin glared down the table at him venomously. "If he even bothers to tell her at all, there will have to be huge amounts of grovelling on his part before we let him near her." He growled out and I nodded, she wasn't my close kin, but she was kin and if I got to mess with a few elves, then all the better. I started as he small man came and sat next to me. "Bilbo Baggins of the Shire, at your service." He said, sitting in the chair next to Balin, "Daín of the Ironhills at yours." I muttered back, slightly embarrassed I had thought a hobbit of the shire to be a child.

Balin turned to him, "How is Ariana?" He asked and I frowned, surely he was aware of how she was. Bilbo caught my frown and sighed, pulling his plate of meat and bread towards him. "I was with Ariana when she entered the mountain before the contest for stewardship. What we found wasn't twelve worried dwarves with a gold mad king. We had been expecting that some of the dwarves would have hints of gold sickness, but our welcoming committee was Kíli and Bifur. To say Ariana was upset was an understatement, that's how I knew when the mountain fixed itself that it was Ariana. When we had arrived and Kíli had told her what they had been greeted with and what had happened, the puzzle-piece door that had been in place seemed to flow like water, moving into the thick flawless doors you arrived through. She once told me that her magic is tied to her emotions, the more she feels the more difficult it is to fully handle, sometimes it leaks out. As you've seen."

I nodded as he paused, reaching for his drink. "What happened next?" I asked, almost afraid of the answer. He sighed, chewing thoughtfully on a bit of bread as he looked around the hall. "We were shown down to where the rest of the company were, down in the treasury. They were like children playing in leaves, tossing gold and jewels up in the air and watching them fall, jumping into piles of gold and rolling around in it. I wasn't really paying much attention to them, I was worried about Ariana. As soon as her gaze had fell on the horde she had frozen and was just looking around the room. None of the company acknowledged us, not until we were down amongst them. Now before you had arrived Ariana was a little sooty and dirty from fighting the dragon and helping the people of Laketown, she changed after the fight with Thorin. Not one of them acknowledge that she was filthy, that there was soot from dragon fire on her. I don't think it eve registered that she had been in Laketown when the dragon had attacked."

I looked over at Balin who was simply looking at the table. Bilbo nodded at me, "After the fight, Ariana was able to claim stewardship and Thorin stomped off back to the horde again, muttering in Khuzdul so I don't know what was said, but I do know that it upset Ariana. She crumbled to her knees and the cold that drown the room shocked everyone of the company out of their sickness, it felt to me like I had been dumped through ice into a lake. I can only imagine what it felt like to them. I watched as they all came back to themselves and began to fuss over Ariana, but she simply stood and walked away from them. She repaid their treatment to her in kind, she still is. She won't talk to any of the company bar the boys, Bifur and myself. I think she has started speaking to Oín about healing supplies, having him coordinate with the elves, but that is out of necessity, she won't speak to any of them."

I looked over at the hobbit, "Do you know why Kíli and Bifur were spared the sickness?" I asked and Bilbo nodded, "I know Kíli was spared as he still had Ariana's Magic in his blood after she had healed him from an injury he had sustained escape escaping from Mirkwood. None of the other's had needed that level of healing from her, so had not had the true protection of her magic. Bifur I think was spared the sickness as he doesn't have the, I suppose the word is interest, in the gold. Bifur has a different taste to many of the other dwarves, purely due to his injury I think." Bilbo suggested looking over at the dwarf with the axe in his head and waved, smiling when he received a wave in return.

I turned back to look around the hall, "So why is Fíli back in her good graces? If he was as bad as the rest." I asked and Bilbo smiled, shaking his head. "She never was very good at staying mad at the boys, they mean too much to her. Yes she is upset that the sickness got to Fíli as it did, but she is also aware he's never seen this much gold in his life. I also think she can forgive him, because of the way he acted when he came out of it. Many of the other members of the company were giving excuses, apologies and trying too hard to make it up to her. Fíli didn't, he just started doing what he could to help the men when they came and when Ariana looked like she needed something he was there with it. I truly think that helped."

I took a gulp of ale, thinking over what Bilbo had said, absently noticing as Kíli and Ariana walked back in. Several of the children ran over to her, dancing around her and laughing. The change in her face was instant, she went from looking tired and pale to smiling, laughing and her eyes were shining. Although she still leant heavily on her staff, she allowed the children to steer her through the clumps of people on the floor to sit back down where she had originally started, they then began to ask question and for stories, clearly unafraid of the power that she wielded.

I saw the man from the council earlier and moved over to stand with him, he turned at my approach. "Bard, at your service." He offered and I smirked, clearly he learnt quickly. "Lord Daín at yours me boy. Your people seem content around my Queen." I stated and he nodded, chuckling. "Wouldn't you be? We are aware of the power she wields, believe me, but she has this aura about her. She is so kind and caring. After her fight with Thorin, she led us in here and according to Kíli was magically weaker and in pain, yet she crouched down despite it and comforted a child, making the sky appear as it does above us." I looked up as he said this, only just noticing the ceiling.

I looked over at him and he shrugged, "She has put our needs before her own, she takes smaller food portions although she needs more food to fuel her magic so that our elderly and ill can have more. The two elves with her help with that though, they keep slipping food to her as she completes a task and she eats it, almost absently." I chuckled, those were two elves I suppose I could like if they kept my cousin healthy. I spoke a little while longer with Bard, learning about what Ariana had done in Laketown and marvelling again at the strength she possessed.

Before we retired to bed, I moved over to speak with Fíli, I had a feeling he would be more receptive to me at the moment than Kíli, who was switching between talking to the elves and doting on his aunt. "May I help you?" He asked as I sat down, his manners polite and obviously taught by Thorin, as the way he held himself was very similar. "Aye, I think ye can. How many of ye saw what Ariana did down on the Lake?" I asked and he looked at me, glaring slightly. "Kíli, Bofur and Oín were with me, why?" He asked suspiciously and I shook my head, "I just wondered, how long you had been affected by the sickness. I have heard that you didn't make excuses or apologise like your elders, you didn't even ask how to fix it, you just did." I stated and he nodded, "I was part of hurting aunty, I can't change that, but I can try and make it better. The people we have travelled here with mean so much to her, we are a family and this is a betrayal that is not easily forgiven. It certainly won't be forgotten."

I nodded, Ariana had always had a good memory. She was talking softly to the blond elf that looked suspiciously like the elf king, smiling softly at something he had said. I looked over towards the table and found the elf king staring back at them, a soft look in his eyes, well as soft as the frosty bastard could be and the look reached no other part of his face. I turned back to Fíli when he shifted, "I know ye mean the world to yer aunt. Don't ye forget that. Keep her close, I don't need ta explain ta ya about losing a loved one." He shook his head and moved over to talk to his brother. I heaved myself to my feet and moved towards my tent, hearing Gandalf tell Bilbo who I was. "I have always found Thorin to be the more reasonable of the two." I frowned at those words, normally Thorin was, but now it was me.

I turned away from my tent and took a pathway that led me to overlook the treasury, one that was known to very few. I had originally wanted to ask Fíli about Thorin, but I had a feeling I needed to see what he was like for myself. I walked silently out onto the covered walkway that was hidden above a small area of the treasury, the sheer amount of gold in here matched the stories and then some, it was no wonder that a dragon had taken notice of it. A movement amongst the gold caught my eye and I looked down, staring as Thorin walked out from behind a mound of coins. I watched him, noticing how his walk had changed, had turned very similar to that of Thrór's had been when I had last seen him. I frowned, as I heard him mutter only the odd words reaching me, but I realised what he was saying, the words 'mine', 'precious' and 'all I ever need', drifting up to me. I started at movement to my left and found Ariana next to me.

I turned towards her as she leant heavily against the staff in her hand, her eyes fixed completely on Thorin. "Ye shouldnae be up Iraknadad, ye should be resting." I told her softly and she shook her head, "I have all this power and yet I cannot save the ones I love the most." She whispered out and I shook my head, "It is not up to ye to be saving them, to be saving any of us. Thorin should be the one saving ye, not the other way around." I told her and she looked up at me. "I know Bilbo told you the story at dinner, about our return to the mountain. He wouldn't have known the words, even though we have been teaching him. Thorin told me he wished I had died, that the orcs had taken me and not adad or grandfather. He told me that he would gladly take my life if it meant he could keep his gold. He said I was not worth my weight in dragon shit and that I should watch my back, lest he push me down the mines." I stared at her, knowing she spoke the truth as she slumped back against the rock.

I moved slowly over to her and placed a hand on her arm, "This is not Thorin talking, he couldnae say those things about ye." I tried to say, but she shook her head and gestured down to the gold and Thorin. "Look at him Daín and tell me he is the same dwarf you knew. Tell me that my brother still walks amongst us, because all I can see is a dwarf I do not know, a monster's who shadow haunts me. I fear what he could do if he could bare to part with his gold for any short length of time." She told me, tears sliding down her cheeks. I brushed one away and she glanced up at me, causing me to freeze. Before her eyes held some kind of sparkle, the faint sheen of gold dancing across them causing the colours of her eyes to entrance you, now I looked into her eyes and there was no gold sheen, the mixture of colours in her eyes was flat and lifeless. It was almost like looking into the eyes of a corpse, the effect was chilling. I hugged her to me tightly and steered her back away from the treasury, anger burning in my gut.

I noticed the dwarf with the axe in his head, waiting off to the side of the passage. I motioned him forward, "The queen needs to rest, will ye take her to her quarters?" I asked him and he nodded, moving gently taking Ariana from me and leading her away up into the mountain. I stalked through the maze of corridors, back to the cavern and stomped back into my tent, knowing that all my men were holding their breath as I walked, lest I went for their heads with my hammer. As I entered my tent I noticed that Dwalin was inside, "What de ye want?" I snarled out placing my hammer down heavily on the table. "Went to see Thorin did ye? Went to stare and gossip?" He spat out and I rounded on him, "He is my cousin too. I wanted to see if everything was true, that he had really sunk so low. I know now that he has. Have ye looked in Ariana's eyes lately, truly looked when she's nowhere near the people out there, the people who look up to her?" I asked quietly, tents weren't the most sound proof of places, and he shook his head.

I scoffed, "Course ye havennae. Yer too much of a chicken shite. Her eyes are dead. There is nothing of her behind them. She blames herself ye know because she has all that power and couldnnae save the ones she loves most." He stared at me as I spoke and I scoffed, "Get out of me sight." I barked out and he left, clearly I had given him something to think about. Hopefully he would talk to the others within the company, Ariana needed their support, now more than ever.

A/N: So this is the last chapter before the BOTFA, so that one may be a while coming as I think it will be a long one. If I can I'll split it so it makes sense, but I plan on writing it in a few POV (mainly Ariana, Thranduil and Thorin) so it could end up being three separate chapters that span the battle. I'm not sure yet as I've only written a few parts of it.

There will be a reveal of wings though I promise that and the arkenstone will be put into play, I just kind of hope you like how it is played :S