'It is here in these halls,' boomed the commanding voice from across the room. 'I know it.'

She only half listened as her father argued with Thorin. Stating they had searched for days. Telling his king they all wanted to see the stone returned. But Thorin disagreed. For if they had time to frolicking, they had time to search. But once again Dwalin knew what to say. For even the hardest workers needed some time off every now and then. And the small company had been working. For weeks, for months. Going on a dangerous quest for their king.

But no matter what his best friend said, Thorin remained angered. Even when Balin joined the conversation, did the newly crowned king deny their advice.

'It is the King's jewel,' he growled lowly, before shouting out in anger. 'Am I not the king!'

Frêllian glanced towards Bilbo as the hobbit next to her flinched at the sudden outburst. Ever since Smaug had been defeated, Thorin had become more quick to anger. Which of course had put everyone on their toes.

'Know this,' the mad king continued his rage menacingly. 'If anyone should find it and withhold it from me, I will be avenged.'

With that said, Thorin walked away from his two most trusted friends. And as he neared Frêllian, he send her a glare. Which the proud ferian gladly returned. She would not cower before the king. If he was not strong enough to withstand the madness within, then he was not worth being called a king.

'You are supposed to have a keen sense of smell,' he grumbled lowly. 'Why are you not able to find it? Are you trying to withhold my birthright?'

'I would do no such thing,' she stated crossly as she straightened her back. 'But how am I able search for something I don't know the scent of?'

'Frêllian is to be trusted, uncle,' Fíli interrupted, glaring at the dwarf before him. 'I thought she has showed her worth time and time again.'

As the dwarf looked over to his nephew in silence, his gaze softened a little. Just a little. Then he looked over to Frellian again. This time a sliffer of his former self evident as he nodded silently at her before walking off.

'I fear he is slowly losing himself,' Frellian told the dwarf prince softly. Her eyes not leaving the retreating dwarf king. 'He gets worse with every passing day. I fear I might have to leave soon, for he will no longer tolerate me here.'

'No, you won't,' Fili quickly said. 'I won't allow it! You belong with us, you belong here and my uncle knows it.'

'Does he now?'

He gently grabbed her arm to make her turn to face him. Then he places both hands on her shoulders. His eyes an unreadable expression as he looked at her.

'True, my uncle is not himself,' he continued. 'I am not a fool. I know the sickness has a hold on him. But I have hope he will win this struggle with himself. I have to!'

'And as long as there is hope, I will pray that he will.'

He gave her a weak smile, his eyes never leaving hers as he softly brushed his finger over her cheek. Only now did she notice a string of hair had fallen in front of her eyes.

The skin still felt warm where his fingers had softly brushed against her skin. And as she felt her cheeks heat up, she knew she was blushing. And with the way her heart was rapidly beating in her chest, she was surprised Fíli had yet to notice.

'Frêllian,' she heard him whisper her name. 'I have been meaning to tell you something for a while now. But I seem to lack the courage to do so.'

'But you are a strong warrior,' she stated, her voice just above a whisper. 'What is so terrifying that even a brave warrior such as yourself must find the courage to speak?'

'I…'

Then his eyes flicked over to something behind her. Whatever he saw, it made him release her as he quickly stepped backwards. His blue eyes now slightly widened with what she recognised as slight fear. No perhaps not fear, but he clearly was uncomfortable. So she gave him a curious look, before turning around.

'Father!'

He still stood at the same spot Thorin had left him. His arms are crossed as he glared at the two of them. His eyes only softening after he had heard her surprised exclaim.

Fill quickly excused himself, making her look at him again. Surprised why he was suddenly so eager to leave, while he was meant to tell her something not a moment prior.

But he simply nodded his head, before quickly taking his leave.

'What was that all about?'

'I was wondering the same thing, lass,' Dwalin muttered as he walked over to her.

'You scared him,' she told him, her surprise now replaced by amusement as a chuckle left her.

'Well of course I did. He was embarrassing my little girl.'

Letting out a laugh, she told her father Fíli was trying to tell her something. Though seemed frightened to do so. But Dwalin simply brushed it off as he gruffly stated her he saw her embarrassed face and he wanted to help her. But that Fíli had noticed him before he could do anything.

'Anyway, I scared him off, didn't I?'

Though it was meant as a joke, neither of them could smile at this remark. Dwalin still looked worried. Even if he tried to look angry, she could see right through it. Frêllian however just looked down. Her heart still pounding rapidly in her chest as she tried to think of all the possible thing the prince had wanted to say to her. What troubled the dwarf-prince? What had he tried to tell her?

Yet all her thoughts returned to the same conclusion…

As yet another night fell, Frêllian sat at her usual spot outside. A warm fur cloak draped over her shoulders as she gazed at the stars. The nights had become colder with each passing day. Though she didn't mind. Not with the warmth her fur coat was giving her.

She did however pitty the people of Laketown, who had arrived at Dale earlier that day. How freezing must they be right now? How long had they been without a proper meal?

And after such a travel, they must have been be exhausted. And the ruins of Dale would not provide them much warmth either.

'I bet it once was a sight to behold, wasn't it,' she asked as Dwalin appeared next to her.

'Aye,' he agreed with a solemn nod. 'That it was. Especially from up close. With the colourful stands and busy streets. It was so full of live. No matter where you looked, there was something going on and the music would echo through the streets.'

She heard him sigh as he undoubtedly remembered the city in all its glory. And as she stared at the city, she could just imagine the beauty Dale had once held. Just like she could still see why her father had spoken so fondly of his home.

'Yet now it lies in ruins,' Dwalin finished sadly.

'But the men of Esgaroth have taken refuge in the city,' she stated, her eyes travelling over to her father. 'They could rebuild the city to it's former glory. Just like the dwarves will do with Erebor.'

'You mean 'we',' the bald dwarf said with a smile as he placed his hand on her shoulder. 'You are one of us as well.'

'Perhaps…'

But she wondered how long Thorin would see that too, for the dwarf king had completely lost himself due to the dragon sickness. Thorin was a lost cause and she questioned his ability to even rule a kingdom at all. But she would not voice her thoughts about the king. Not to her father. Not to anyone. For as long as they held hope their king would come back to his senses, she would let them hold on to that hope and pray to Lüna they were right.

'I am a ferian though.'

'And also a dwarf! You are my daughter after all.'

She nodded. That she was. Which was why she had felt conflicted for some time now. And of course her changing feelings for the heir of Erebor had made her feel even more conflicted. And it was because of those feelings for the dwarf prince, that she had forgotten what she was. Who she was. But she remembered now and her father had to see it as well.

Though she knew it would be hard and she knew he would try everything within his power to prevent her from fulfilling her destiny. Which made it even harder. For the ferian herself did not like it either and she had forsaken who she was out of fear. But now that the dwarves had reclaimed Erebor, something had started to stir, a sense of duty.

She remained quiet for a while. Gathering her thoughts as the two of them sat in silence. Watching the horizon as Lüna light shined upon lands beneath her. Once Frêllian finally opened her mouth again, she spoke in a quiet, uncertain voice.

'I am also the alpha supreme, queen of my people.' She glanced over to the dwarf next to her for a moment, but then looked away once again. She did not dare look at him as she shared with him her thoughts. 'And a queen needs to lead her people. Just like a king would.'

'The hell with that! You are my daughter, I will not part from you again.' He turned towards her, holding her hands into his as he continued. 'Frey, I've lived for years wondering where you were. Thinking you were dead. Now that I've found you, you cannot ask me to let you go again. I, I love you.'

She looked at him. Her eyes widened in shock. This was the first time he had actually said those words out loud. She had always known he did, his actions speaking loud and clear for her to hear. Which was why she had never expected her father to actually say he loved her.

Then she threw her arms around him, her face hidden in his fur cloak as tears started to form in her eyes. Why? Why did he have to make this even harder? Why couldn't he just let her go?

'I love you too, father,' she whispered hoarsely. 'But we can not have history repeat itself. The ferien need a leader, and by birth it is my duty.'

They remained there for a while. Neither of them having the heart to say anything. For whatever words would leave their mouth would bring even more pain. So Frêllian just held her father close to her as he stroke a hand through her hair. Her tears soaking his coat as she silently let them fall.

'What if I were to agree with the union of you and that prince of yours?'

Did he really just said that? Her prince? Why would he even say that? Eventhough she did have feelings for Fíli, that didn't mean her was her prince! She already made a hard decision to return to the pack and reunite all ferien. It had been a real difficult decision to go and leave her family behind.

To leave Bilbo behind. And of course to ignore her heart's desire. All to prevent the same thing to occur once again.

But now Dwalin was here telling her this? Did he not know she was the last of her line? Did he not realise there was no other ferian in line to claim the title, except her uncle? No other alpha could carry her title of alpha supreme, unless she died. And should that happen, it would result in broken packs, bloodshed and hatred. She would make the same mistake her mother had made, if she did so.

No, even if she wanted to, Frêllian had no choice. This was her destiny. She was born to lead her people. And she had failed to do so for a very long time. The only reason the ferien hadn't fought eachoter for the title, was because they could always sense their true leader was still alive. At least, according to Gírla.

'You can't do this, father,' she finally whispered. 'You can't do this to me! Don't you realise how hard this is for me?'

'Then don't leave!'

But she shook her head. Telling him she couldn't. Even if he could not realise why, she still tried. She needed him to understand. But in the end, Dwalin just walked away in anger. Slamming his fist into a wall as he entered the dark halls of Erebor. His angered footsteps echoing through the halls as Frêllian stayed behind. Tears still falling down as she stared at the bright moon.

'Why did it have to be me, Lüna? Why couldn't it be someone else to carry this burden?'

But the moon remained silent, as she always did. As she always had.

After a while, Frêllian wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks, ignoring the new ones as they continued to fall. Silently she send a silent prayer to whomever would listen to her. The gods of the ferien, the dwarves and even the elves. Whoever would listen would do. Though she knew her prayers would remain unanswered. For life was not a fairytale with happy endings.

She threw with glance at the city of Dale. Light flickered from the torches as the people of Esgaroth took shelter, before her eyes found Lüna high in the sky. Her form ever changing, always silent. Just an object in the sky, nothing more, the ferian thought bitterly. Then she stood up and made her way back into Erebor.