"Sepha," Sigrid whispered.

The quarter breed lifted her furry head from where she had been resting it on her front paws and considered Sigrid with her bright violet eyes.

"I know you're hurting but you're going to make yourself sick," the girl pointed out. "You have to eat and sleep. You haven't since you came here. Besides that, you haven't morphed back to human either."

Sepha didn't reply but laid her head back down. Sigrid sighed.

"And you haven't spoken since you got here either."

Sepha shook her head. Honestly, she didn't have anything to say. Food was tasteless to her and rest could never come. She was sitting at the very far back of Dale, as far from the mountain as possible and most of the time, she had all the children of lake town playing around and over her. She would occasionally get up from her lying position to help carry things or to give the children wolf rides around the city but not once did she let her violet eyes lay on the mountain that stood at their doorstep.

She didn't even bark, growl or even purr. Once, Tilda had found her soft spot behind her ears (in human form it was her back) and scratched there, reaching the parts that were hard to itch when in wolf form. Sepha had thought that she would naturally purr at the comforting feeling but she couldn't.... it was like her body didnt want to make a noise anymore.

"Father has gone to speak with the dwarves," Bain said, hurrying over.

Sigrid tried to give her brother a warning look but Bain missed it and Sepha slowly turned so that she was hiding her face behind her large body.

"Sorry Sepha," Bain whispered. "I forgot."

Sepha shook her head and gave the boy a soft look with her violet eyes, telling him that she wasn't upset with him.

Bain came and sat down beside the girl and Sepha laid her large head on Bain's knee, allowing the boy to stroke her head (which was her hair in human form)

Finding that she wasn't needed, Sigrid went off to look out for her father.

"Sepha," Bain whispered. "Do you love Thorin?"

There was a long painful silence. Did she love him? Sepha knew that at one time or another she did love him.... but did she still love him even though the sickness had destroyed the good in him? Did she still love him.

She taught back to two nights prior when she had managed to get THorin to rest. She had seen a spark of the old Thorin in there....it was like he was still there but something... something big had to break him free.

Slowly, the girl nodded her head and Bain smiled. He wrapped his arms around the girl's furry neck and hugged her.

"I'm glad."

Sepha lifted her eyes and looked at the boy, puzzled.

Bain smiled, "I'm glad because I see bits of da in Thorin. You might not see it because you don't know my da like I do but.... after ma died, da would get this faraway look. His eyes looked like they were in another world and he would zone out. Then whenever he looked at me or the girls... his eyes would light up. Whenever Tilda or Sigrid did something that reminded him of ma, his eyes were start to shine like stars. THat's when I knew he was happy because he could still see ma in us."

Sepha found herself smiling in spite of herself at hearing those words. Bain was so young, yet so wise and observant.

"It's the same with you and THorin," Bain continued, "For the short time you were in lake town, whenever you weren't around Thorin would look just like my da when he was thinking of ma.... kind of far away in another world and all zoned out and almost unhappy. Then when you came into the room, it was just like when da saw ma in Tilda or Sigrid. Thorin's eyes would shine the exact same way and he would look like the happiest man on earth."

The girl turned her head and looked at Bain a moment, sitting back on her haunches. Bain smiled up at her.

"That's how I know that THorin loves you.... because my da loved my ma more than life.... more than anything. He looked at her the same way Thorin looked at you.... with love."

Sepha smiled sadly but she felt a deep pain wash over her. Bain seemed to notice for he continued.

"But it wasn't just the look. Da was overly protective of me and the girls after ma died. At first I thought it was because he was afraid to lose us too or because it got his mind off of losing ma.... but then I realized that he wanted to protect us because it made him happy knowing we were safe and happy." the boy explained. "And no one can deny that THorin is overly protective of you. I don't know what happened before you reached lake town and I know things got hard and painful afterwards but just that one day and night that you were in lake town, it was like Thorin didn't want you out of your sight for fear something would happen... and when he saw you happy and safe, he looked like he couldn't get happier."

Sepha had laid back down and had her head resting on her front paws when Bain reached over and stroked her head behind her ears, then her fur all so gently, "Thorin loves you Sepha. It might be hard to see with the sickness.... but he still loves you. You might be the only thing that is keeping him as sane as he is."

"Maybe I shouldn't have stayed behind then," Sepha breathed. "Maybe I should have gone with him and he might have not fallen to the sickness."

Bain shook his head, "My ma once told me to never dwell on what could have been. We don't know what could have happened if you had gone. You and Thorin might have not admitted to your feelings....Fili and Kili might have died...."

"But Thorin got sick," Sepha objected.

Bain nodded, "There's no way we could have avoided it. opposites of the world balance out. You cannot have hate without love because without love, there would be no hate. There would only be a blank feeling. You cannot have up without down because if there was no down, there would be no up to go up to. You cannot have happiness without pain because if there was no pain, there would be no happiness.... only blankness. They balance each other out and create life....THorin has to fight this evil.... with good. And that good that he needs to fight the evil can be found in you Sepha."

Sepha looked at the boy and Bain smiled, "I should go see how the meeting went with the dwarves."

Sepha nodded and watched the boy go. When she was sure he wasn't listening, she followed discreetly.

"How did it go father?" Bain asked his dad.

"They refused to agree to the terms," Bard replied. "Thranduil has declared war. we attack at dawn."

Sepha felt her heart sink. Thorin, what have you done? With that, she spun on her paws and charged out of dale. Just like she did every night since she left Erabor, she climbed to the highest tower of Dale where the dwarves had watched the burning of lake town.

When she reached the top, she slammed her paws on the ground in frustration and let the tears flow. She felt sobs overtake her and let out a loud yell (however, in a wolf form it was just a loud painful howl).

Little did she know that in Erabor, Fili and Kili had been on watch and had seen the girl rush to the tower and lift her head and howl. She did it every night and every night it got worse. Her howl became more painful and it almost sounded like she was crying. Even from Erabor they could hear the pain.

Fili remembered to earlier that day when Thorin had stepped away from the peephole and had told Bard to leave. Bard had called to FIli and Kili and they had gone to the hole to listen to him.

'Sepha is in pain,' he had said, 'she doesn't eat or sleep. She hasn't spoken since she has arrived and wont morph back to human. It's like she has given up on being a human. The only one she'll talk to is Bain but she will barely speak except a few words each day.'

"It's like she is becoming uncle," FIli whispered.

Kili shook his head, "No she isnt.... she is sharing in his pain," he explained. "Uncle doesn't sleep or eat and he barely speaks to anyone. She is doing the same and if I know Sepha, she will keep doing it till Uncle stops."

"But why?" Fili insisted.

Kili sighed and shook his head, "Because she thinks she's responsible for his falling to the sickness."

What they didn't know was that a dark figure stood in the shadows listening to their conversation. When they finished talking, they headed down to rouse Dori who had the next watch. When they were gone, Thorin stepped out of the shadows onto the wall and looked at Dale. He could see the dark outline of Sepha sitting on the high tower before descending into the depths of Dale.

Thorin reached to his belt and fingered the bead that still rested in his pouch there. HIs fingers grazed across his family crest and he felt tears spring to his eyes. He turned and headed back down, hoping to get some rest. Instead of lying down with the other dwarves, he went to his private quarters. The moment he stepped in he could just see himself and Sepha lying there, Sepha telling him to get some rest.... him telling her that he loved her....her falling asleep next to him....

His ears still rang with the sound of her pained howl and he felt tears prick his eyes. He opened his mouth to whisper something but nothing came out. He removed his hand from his pouch and turning, he slammed the door and headed back to the treasure chamber.

Sepha didn't realize she had dozed off until she felt Tilda shift above her. Tilda had fallen asleep with her head on Sepha's furry back with Bain next to her. Sepha found herself smiling in spite of her pained mood.

She was about to lie back in order to not rouse them when Sigrid came sprinting towards them, waking the two children.

"Hurry!" She cried.

"What is it?" Bain asked, helping his little sister up.

"Da and the elf king have gone to Erabor. All the elves have moved out and all the men too! They're going to offer an agreement one more time before they attack the mountain," Sigrid replied.

Sepha was up in an instant and after telling Bain to protect his sisters, she bolted out of Dale.

Meanwhile, things were not going well on the wall of Erabor.

"We have come to tell you that payment for our share has been offered and accepted," Thranduil remarked.

"Payment with what?" Thorin hissed, still having his bow drawn. "I gave you nothing! You have nothing!"

Thranduil turned to Bard who reached into his coat and pulled out the arkesntone, "We have this."

Thorin's face went ashen white and he could barely speak.

"They have the arkesntone," Kili whispered. "Thieves! How came you by the heirloom of our house? That stone belongs to the king!"

"The king may have it," Bard replied. "With our good will but first he must honor his word."

Thorin shook his head, "THey're taking us for fools. it's a ruse. a filthy lie. The arkesntone is in this mountain! It's a trick!"

"It's no trick," Bilbo said, coming out from hiding, "The stone is real. I gave it to them."

Thorin turned and his eyes darkened with hate, "You...."

"I took it as my fourteenth share," the hobbit replied.

"You would steal from me?" THorin asked, his voice dripping with venom.

"Steal from you?" Bilbo asked almost laughing. "No. I may be a burglar but I'd like to think I'm an honest one. I'm willing to let it stand against my claim."

"Against your claim?" THorin asked, smirking, "You're claim. You have no claim over me you MISERABLE RAT!"

"I wanted to give it to you," Bilbo admitted. "Many times I want to but..."

He stopped and Thorin interrupted. "But what thief?"

"You are changed Thorin!" Bilbo said, his voice firm. "The dwarf I met in Baggend would never have gone back on his word! WOULD NEVER HAVE DOUBTED THE LOYALTY OF HIS KIN!"

"Do not speak to me of loyalty," THorin hissed. "THROW HIM FROM THE RAMPART!"

There was dead silence and everyone on the ground, even Thranduil stared in horror.

"Did you not hear me!?" THorin yelled, grabbing FIli but the dwarf pulled away from his uncle.

"I'll do it myself then," Thorin said, grabbing Bilbo.

He had just hauled the halfling onto the wall and was about to push him over when something cold and sharp struck his hand and he snapped his hand back, yelling in pain. He looked down and saw that there was a long cut on the back of his hand. Looking down at the wall, he saw that the object of his injury was an arrow.... long and delicate with white feathers.....

THorin felt his heart stop in horror as he lifted his eyes just as a loud growl split the air.

"If you do not like the hobbit then don't hurt him!" Sepha yelled, pushing through the crowd of elves and coming to stand in front of Bard and Thranduil, still in wolf form. "Return him unharmed!"

Thorin slowly released the hobbit who at once was ushered to the rope and he began to climb down.

"You all are mad to think that I will ever deal with shire rats Aga...." he never finished.

Right as those words began to escape him Sepha morphed back into human and drawing her sword she drove it into the hard stone in front of her. Surprisingly, it didn't break nor did it crack the stone.... just cut clean through it like cheese. When she did this, a deep rumble sounded and a huge gust of wind knocked at the dwarves, sending most of them falling back. it was stronger than any gale they had ever felt.

When they had recovered their footing, they looked down to see Sepha standing there. She looked horrible. The bags under her eye were noticeable even from that distance. Her hair was down (she still hadn't rebraided it since she left), her face pale and she looked like she hadn't eaten in a while and tears were staining her cheeks.

She looked so beautiful.... yet so undernourished.

"There was a time when it thought I knew you Thorin Oakenshield," she said, glaring up at him. "A time when I thought I knew everything about you."

"You know nothing about me!" THorin yelled back, nothing but anger in his voice.

Sepha nodded, "Of course I don't.... because you LIED TO ME! You showed me a side of you that didn't really exist! A side of you that everyone trusted! the company followed you because they thought that the good side of you was the real you.... gosh were we mistaken. No THorin, I know everything there is to know about you... I know that all you are thinking of right now is the treasure behind you. I know that you haven't slept since you arrived in Erabor and barely eaten anything. I know that your mind is laced with greed and aggression. Three days ago... I thought there was still a part of you left.... I was wrong."

There was a pause while all the dwarves looked at THorin to see that his eyes were glossy and he looked like he was ready to cry.... but he looked so sick.... dangling between good and evil.

"I gave you everything THorin! I gave you my heart.... my trust, my loyalty, my life! I gave you everything because I thought that I knew you! The only reason I followed you before I fell in love with you was because I trusted you! I trusted you because I saw a dwarf who cared. I saw a dwarf who loved his comrades and his friends. He loved his nephews more than life. He would do anything to see them happy and safe. That dwarf is gone. Honestly.... I don't even know who I am talking to right now because I am most certainly not talking to THORIN OAKENSHIELD!"

When she raised her voice, even Thranduil jumped at how much pain and hurt was lacing her voice.

"Thorin Oakenshield is dead!" Sepha yelled. "He died the moment he entered this mountain! This person who looks like Thorin and sounds like THorin.... isnt Thorin. He is just a beast that has taken over the real Thorin.... the THorin I loved!"

When Sepha finished, she morphed back into a wolf and pulled Bilbo onto her back before turning and running off back to Dale in search of Gandalf.

"Give us your answer!" Bard yelled. "The return of the arkesntone for what was promised!? Will you have peace or war?"

There was a long silence until suddenly a crow flew onto the ledge by THorin and he turned his eyes to the hills, "I will have war."

"I'm going over the wall," Kili remarked. "Who's coming with me?"

Thorin shook his head, "Stand down."

"What?" FIli asked.

"Are we to do nothing?" Ori asked.

"I SAID!" THorin snapped. "STAND DOWN!"

A moment later, Thorin was sitting upon the throne when Dwalin came storming up to him.

"Thorin, we have to go out there. Dain is surrounded. THey're being slaughtered Thorin."

"There are halls beneath halls within this mountain," Thorin whispered. "Places we can fortify. Hold up make safe, yes.... that is it. We must move the gold further underground to safety."

"Did you not hear what I just said?" Dwalin insisted. "They're dying out there."

"May die in war," Thorin replied. "Life is cheap. But a treasure such as this cannot be counted in lives lost."

Dwalin shook his head in disgust, "There was a time when you said that Persephone was the greatest treasure in the world. Now, you treat her as dirt."

"It was her choice," THorin remarked.

"She left because you were hurting her Thorin," Dwalin pointed out. "She left because she couldn't bear to see you so sick. She is out there risking her life to fight those orcs alongside your cousin. Do you remember nothing of all the things you told Sepha? Do you remember nothing?"

"Do not speak to me as if I were some lowly dwarf lord," Thorin hissed. "As if I were still.... THorin Oakenshield."

His voice broke at that and Dwalin knew why. Sepha's words at the gate were eating into THorin's mind... slowly chewing away at the evil inside of him and just saying his name hurt.... because Dwalin knew SEpha's words were working.

"I AM YOUR KING!" Thorin yelled.

"You were always my king," Dwalin remarked. "You used to know that once. You cannot see what you have become."

Those words dug so deep that Thorin felt his mind spin. He could see SEpha standing at the gate.... her face streaming with tears.....

"Go on. Get out before I kill you."

TIME SKIP

There was too much running through Thorin's head at that moment. He slowly strode into the gallery of the kings where the melted gold had hardened, covering the floor in a thick layer of gold.

Suddenly, voices began to jump into Thorin's head and he felt himself consumed by each word. He recognized Bilbo, Dwalin, Balin, Bard, Gandalf and even his own voice.

You sit here in these vast halls with a crown upon your head. You are lesser now than you have ever been.

A treasure such as this cannot be counted in lives lost

A sickness lies upon that treasure

The blind ambition of a mountain king

AM I NOT THE KING!?

This treasure is ours and ours alone

I will not part with a single coin

He could not see beyond is own desire!

As if I was some lowly dwarf lord. Thorin Oakenshield.

A sickness which drove your grandfather mad

Oakenshield....

This is Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror

I am not my grandfather

You are the heir to the throne of durin

They are dying out there

Take back ERabor

Dain is surrounded

They're dying

Take back you're homeland

You are changed Thorin