"I was the moon, she was the sun. I was war, she was peace. I was disaster, she was beauty. I was sorrow, she was happiness. She was my salvation, I was her destruction. "

fairy had a painfully solemn look about her when the morning came to depart ways with her dear friend. Bilbo Baggins stood next to a saddled pony with a pack on his back and a small dwarvish shield under his arm. Thorin had bestowed upon the hobbit a fine cloak bearing the royal seal of the line of Durin that would warm him on chilly nights while on the road while winter was coming to a close. "Farewell, Master Baggins."

Arethusa came forward and wrapped Bilbo in her arms, she was reluctant to let him go after growing accustomed to his constant presence. "I have arranged a proposition with Thranduil, he will see that you have safe passage through Mirkwood and to Rivendell." The Halfling could hardly bear to hear the sadness in his dear friend's voice, let along to look upon her saddened face.

"Thank you, Arthie," he squeezed her a little bit tighter before departing from the embrace. "I look forward to our next meeting. Farewell, my dear Bilbo. No gelin idh raid gîn, a no adel gin i chwest." She kissed his cheek and took a step back to stand next to Thorin as the hobbit mounted his pony and Gandalf on a black mare. The dwarves that had gathered to say farewell dispersed back into the Mountain but Thorin lingered at her side, she watched the horizon until their shapes could no longer be seen.

It had taken a fortnight for Arethusa to give the word that the dwarf King was completely healed, she would not have to change his bandages or curse his disobedience when it came to listening to the fairy. The scars lingered as even her magic was not powerful enough to take them away, but she quite liked them. At night, when they lay next to each other, she would trace over the puckered skin and he would curse her touch.

⌘⌘⌘

Thorin and Arethusa had retired early from the duties, even choosing to have the evening meal delivered to their chambers. He had shown her more of the mountain, played the harp, and listened to the way his fairy sang while bathing in the warm pool of water deep within the mountain. She had only just laid her head on his chest when a knock came at the door. The dwarf king bid the visitor to enter, "Thanu men!" The young dwarf was out of breath, a scroll of parchment with a broken seal was in his hand. "We have received a raven, the Lady Dís is less than a day's journey from reaching the Mountain. She will arrive in the morning."

Thorin took the letter, read it over and passed it back to the messenger, "Menu jemetu." Arethusa had read the message from over his shoulder, the smile that came over her face was large and excitable. "What is that smile for?" He asked with a raised brow.

"Since the day we received news of her departure from the Blue Mountains I have been eager to meet her. Kili and Fili have told me so much about her." Kili and Fili had told her that she reminded them of their mother but they had also told her tales of their mother and uncle's interactions when they were children. One time Uncle Thorin gave Kili a sword when he was only twenty, mother took the sword and led Thorin away by the ear. They fought a lot, sibling banter, we never had a peaceful dinner between the four of us. Mother told us that dwarves sprouted from the earth and that elves were made of leaves and tree sap, Uncle overhead the tale and amended it, he told us elves were made of lies. The two brother had been trying to cheer the fairy up when they spoke of such things and it worked.

The dwarf king puffed out his chest in indignation and scoffed, "I believe the two of you will enjoy each other's company." Arethusa chuckled and propped her head up on his chest, "Why say it with such a tone?" She teased but he would have none of her banter that night, he would have her.

When morning broke she was quick to ready herself for the day, as was Thorin, even though the two soon returned to lay in bed before nerves got the best of Arethusa. The fairy was furiously pacing back and forth in front of the glowing hearth. Her hair had been pinned back, a single braid was done in the snow white strands. She wore a deep green dress trimmed with gold, it made her look all the pallor. "What if she doesn't like me?" Thorin had nearly been driven mad by her worry, he stepped in her path and took her hands so that she could not wring them together anymore.

"Arethusa, she will love you," he had hoped his words would offer more consolation than they did. The worry in her violet eyes was still there. Thorin sighed and stepped aside, almost immediately she began walking back and forth, picking at the skin in her right palm. The dwarf king did up his own tunic and turned back to retrieve a poorly wrapped package, "I have something to for you." She had not heard him at first but he spoke again, louder. "I have a gift for you, Arethusa."

Thorin pulled her towards the table where atop strewn scrolls and inkpots laid an object swathed in grey wool and tied off with wooden twine. Arethusa reached out and found that the wrapped contents were metal, most likely forged in the mines deep within the Mountain. "Bofur and Dwalin helped me make them in secret." She looked at Thorin with a sharp glance that reminded him of the look his sister had when she scolded his nephews. "That's why your shoulder was not healing!" It had taken two weeks too long for his shoulder to heal from the strained muscles, Arethusa fretted over him every night. He unabashedly enjoyed her attention.

"Yes," he admitted sheepishly, a flush of color coming to his cheeks. "Open it," he urged, she pulled the twine free and the dark cloth fell away revealing a silver diadem patterned with dwarvish designs that had amethysts and sapphires inlaid within the metal. Though what she picked up first was a single silver bead imprinted with Thorin's seal and a vine of flowers around the top and bottom. She was near speechless, it was as much her as it was him. Wordlessly she passed the bead to Thorin, he stepped forward and took a portion of her hair that laid near the first braid.

He fumbled with the braid, this time, her hair was finer than before; the white strands slipped through his thick fingers. Arethusa spun the bead between her fingers admiring the craftsmanship though she admired the dwarf that had made it tenfold. The fairy turned back to face Thorin, contentedly she rested her head in the middle of his chest. The dwarf king encased her within his arms and smiled into her hair. The moment of reprieve from the duties expected of them was broken by a knock on the door for a warning before both Kili and Fili stuck their heads through the opening they had made. "Mother is passing through Dale!"

Thorin glared at his nephews, Arethusa smiled and clapped her hands together, excitement overtaking her nervousness. Though before she could march out the door, Thorin pulled her back and placed the silver crown on her head, it was delicate in decoration but jagged in design, like her. He offered her the crook of his arm and they left to greet Lady Dís as King and Queen Under the Mountain.

At the front of the traveling part was Lady Dís, her hair was blacker than coal and full of curls and braids though not all were secured with beads. The same color hair created a neatly trimmed beard that ran along a strong jawline. It was obvious she and Thorin were related by looks alone. She was the first to dismount and come forward to meet her brother. For a drawn-out second, she looked at him apprehensively before lurching forward with a mirthful laugh to embrace her brother. "Thorin Oakenshield, by Durin if you hadn't lived I would have brought you back just to kill you myself."

Thorin laughed and clapped his sister on the shoulder. "It is good to see you." The Lady nodded and peered over her brother's shoulder, scanning over the dwarves present for her arrival. "Where's this Fairy Queen of yours that I've heard so much about?" The fairy swallowed the lump that was in her throat, Thorin returned to his fairy's side and nudged her forward, "Dís, this is Arethusa." Arethusa nearly lowered her eyes when his sister looked at her as if she were inspecting every aspect, finding every flaw.

"I have looked forward to our meeting Lady-oof," she didn't manage to finish the greeting before the dwarrowdam was embracing her with no reserve. Her hugs were a combination of Fili and Kili's, comforting and suffocating at the same time. She had no doubt that they were her sons. Kili favored his mother more so than Fili, but her eldest had her deep blue eyes and button-like nose. They each parted with a smile but Dís's grew wider when her sons approached.

"Kili! Fili!" All three embraced, Dís had begun crying and it only caused Kili and Fili to begin shedding tears as well. "My boys, my darling boys. Oh, I missed you two." The sight, however happy it may have been, caused a deep sadness to wash over the fairy. Thorin noticed the change in her expression almost immediately. She missed her own mother and even when they had been momentarily reunited Arethusa couldn't even manage to hug her, let alone speak of how much she longed to have her company again. Her mother had been taken from her too soon, as had her home, and all the people she had ever loved.

She remembered them all, every single person she had met in the long span of her life, the ones that she grew close to were always the first ones to leave. She feared the day when Thorin would be gone but she would remain. A tear ran down her cheek. "Go to our chambers, I'll be there shortly," Arethusa shook her head. "It's alright, Thorin," and it was, for once everything was alright, yet simultaneously nothing was right. He stole a chaste kiss from her rosy lips before continuing on with the formalities of welcoming the rest of the dwarves that had traveled with his sister to their new home.

The following festivities and feast had drained the energy from the fairy, even Thorin was dragging himself through the halls when the time came and they could escape the great hall. "I have something to show you," she hoped it was a bed, a new featherbed with only the softest goose feathers, but the path he had taken her on told her it wasn't going to be a bed of any sort. "Thorin, I'm exhausted, can it not wait until tomorrow?" But they had already arrived, a large stone door was pushed open, flickering torches lined a narrow hall. Arethusa followed him and gasped with wide eyes as she saw what he had led her too.

Part of the mountain had been carved out to create a flat overlook, silver moonlight bathed the rock and lingering patches of snow. While the view of Dale and the Long Lake was extraordinary it was not that which brought her to tears but a line of freshly built wooden boxes that had been filled in with soil. A small garden. Several of the plants had grown a leaf or two, revealing that they were herbs and flowers that she used for healing.

"Bilbo told me that you liked to care for plants in your spare time. I know a mountain is not an ideal place for growing things..." Thorin trailed off, he wasn't even sure if what he was saying made sense. The sight of her white hair glowing silver was what brought him to his senses. "I want you to be happy here, Arethusa, but I also understand that you are a wanderer and a fairy. Should you feel the urge to travel then we'll go wherever you wish, for as long as you wish." The fairy bit her lip in hopes that she would stop crying, but these were happy tears. She believed she couldn't love Thorin anymore than she already did, this gift proved her wrong.

Arethusa brushed back the braid she had made in Thorin's hair and held his face in her hands before kissing him, so softly and so sweetly that the dwarf king decided that he would give up everything so long as he was able to keep her.

A new summer approached and every day she tended to her little garden. Kili and Fili had begun helping her and sometimes Dís would visit her whilst she worked to talk or bring a small lunch. When Thorin came to see her in the small garden he simply watched, every movement she made in the flower beds made him smile and he found himself doing the impossible, falling further in love with the fairy.

No gelin idh raid gîn, a no adel gin i chwest. (Sindarin): May your paths be green and the breeze behind you.

Thanu men. (Khuzdul): My King.

Menu jemetu. (Khuzdul): You are excused.