Torches flickered, their lights illuminating a golden hue over the thick stone walls as they did so. The sound of tinkering and clinking was heard from across the halls, along with laughter and songs. Songs of encouragement and war and triumph as the former company of Thorin Oakenshield dined.

Though not all we're present. To start off, a certain hobbit was currently enjoying his pipe as he sat on the seat by his door, legs crossed as he puffed out grey rings of smoke every now and then. Humming contently as he did so.

The second missing member was would be a ferian. Not just any ordinary ferian, of course. No, she was the queen of her people and very dear to the dwarves of Erebor indeed.

And then there were four dwarves missing. The great Thorin Oakenshield himself, for he had perished years ago during the battle that had followed after he had reclaimed the great dwarven kingdom. Songs of his victory were often heard throughout Erebor as the first dwarves came from the Blue Mountains, two years after his demise. Stories of the worthy descendant of the mighty Durin were told by Balin, as the dwarf honoured his fallen friend.

The second missing dwarf was yet another fallen descendant of Durin and nephew of Thorin. Kíli had fought like a brave warrior, yet was eventually overpowerd by the enemy and died in his brother's arms. The same brother who was now king under the mountain and preferred to live in solitude. For his heart was filled with grief. Even after six years had almost passed by now. The depressed dwarf had not only lost his brother, but his uncle as well during the battle of the five armies. And also was forced to let go of the woman he fallen in love with.

And if one should know one thing about dwarves, was that they only love once. Once they had found the one person that would capture their heart - something that happened very rarely amongst dwarves, for dwarrowdams were few and even fewer wanted to settle down -, their heart would be theirs forever. Whether their love was reciprocated or not. For king Fíli though, his love was reciprocated, yet he was denied all the same due to their duty. And thus his heart had become like stone.

Yes, he ruled like his forebears had done, returning his kingdom back to its former glory. Yet he refused to let another close to him. Eventhough he was the king, his face was a rare sight to behold. Instead, Fíli spend his days in solitude, holed up in a room to be alone in his misery. Dark thoughts easily found his mind and clung to it like a baby on its mother's breast. Depression had indeed a strong grip on the poor dwarven king.

As Dwalin, the last missing member of the former company, looked at his king from the corner of the chamber, he shook his head in sadness. He knew he would find Fíli here, it was where the young king spend most of his days. The room where he had to say his farewells to Frêllian. And the only chamber unoccupied, by order of the king.

The scribbling of the quill was the only sound as Fíli's hand moved over a piece of parchment. No doubt he was once again writing another letter no raven would carry. It was what Fíli spend his days doing, when there was no need for him. Writing letter after letter, with no intent to ever send them. And while he never told Dwalin to whom the letters were for, the dwarf knew. He had seen the name written at the top of each letter. Each and every time the name had been written neatly, with a handwriting Dwalin never knew Fíli possessed.

They were meant for Frêllian.

Dwalin sighed, before he finally made his presence known by clearing his throat. He did not particularly like disturbing the king, for whoever dared disturb him in this chamber, was sure to get yelled at. But alas, the king was needed and he did not want to disturb his older brother.

'How many times have I told you I do not wish to be disturbed,' came the angry shout as Fíli slammed down the quill, carefully to not slam the item at the parchment. 'I come here to clear my mind.'

'You come here to hold onto the past, while you have duties to fulfil.'

Was he being bold? Yes. Was he being reckless by doing so? Perhaps. But Dwalin was not afraid of the young king. He had been on the receiving end of an enraged Thorin, while the dwarf had succumbed to dragonsickness. He did not fear his successor, for at least Fíli was still right in the mind. Just struck by grief. He had a short temper, but never acted without thinking.

'I do not care for my duties,' Fíli sneered angrily as he turned his head to glance over his shoulder. 'These so called duties where not mine to carry to begin with. Not now.'

'And yet they are. The throne was yours by right as Thorin's heir, but the crown comes with a heavy weight, lad.'

'A weight I wasn't ready to carry yet!'

Dwalin's eyes soften as he faced the now standing king. Feeling pity for the lad.

'Aye, I agree on that one,' he agreed. 'You are still young, with far less experience than those who came before you. But that doesn't mean you will not become as great a king. Look how Erebor thrives, you did that. Even now, there are dwarves coming home to the mountain. But they wish to know their king.'

Dwalin stopped, contemplating his next words. No matter what he would say, he would have to face the wrath of the king. But when choosing between two bads, choose the lesser one.

'You will have to leave the past behind eventually, your grace,' he then said. 'It is not healthy.'

Fíli only scoffed at this, but otherwise remained silent. Though his eyes spoke for him as he glared at the warrior.

'Anyway, I fear you have other choice but to go to the throneroom. Whether you like it or not, you have visitors who wish to speak to you.'

Fíli turned his back to him, muttering to the dwarf that he did not like visitors. But Dwalin would not take no for an answer and he walked up towards the stubborn king, grabbing him by his shoulders when he stood behind him.

'I suggest you go get yourself ready, boy,' Dwalin said, trying to remain calm. For these visitors weren't only only important to Fíli. They were important to the warrior as well. In fact, they were important to the whole kingdom. 'These visitors aren't just any visitors. They are ferien.'

Now that got his attention. It had been a while since ferien had come to Erebor. In fact, the last time Fíli had seen a ferian, was when he had said farewell to Frêllian.

'What do they want? What news do they carry to want to speak to me.'

But Dwalin only shrugged his shoulders. It had been Gluil to have interrupted Dwalin during his meal to inform the dwarf of the news. Though Dwalin did know more than he would let on. He knew which ferien had arrived, for he had first properly welcomed the guests, before going to inform his king.

'Can you not see to them? You speak their language afterall.'

But Dwalin declined. Stating that they had come all the way to see the king of Erebor. It would be rude to dismiss them like that.

'Besides, it would be wise to show the ferien your best side, would it not? Afterall, news of Erebor will find the ears of their queen.' Dwalin watched as Fíli stiffened his shoulders, his hand unmoving in mid-air. Oh aye, Dwalin had his attention once again. 'Would you not want Frêllian to know what a wonderful host you've been to her people?'

Fíli remained motionless for a moment, but then he turned around abruptly. Without a word, he brushed passed Dwalin towards the door. But before he could leave, Dwalin stopped him.

'Where are you going, your grace?'

'To welcome our guests, of course,' was his curt reply. 'The sooner they leave, the better.'

And with that, Fíli made his way towards the throneroom.

There where five in total. Five ferien were greeted by Fíli after they entered the throneroom. The leader was familiar to the king, even if it had been years. Still, he recognised the golden-brown hair and green eyes of Canwrîf as he bowed before the dwarf.

'I heard you wished to speak to me,' Fíli said matter-of-factly, his eyes scanning each and every ferian in the hopes of spotting a certain silver-haired ferian. But alas, Frêllian was not among them.

'Indeed,' said Canwrîf as he stepped forth. 'I came by the order of our queen. She's had a meeting not too long ago, where there was some disagreement between ferien.'

The ferian glanced to his right, to where an older ferian stood. His face stoic as he looked back at the dwarfking. If Fíli hadn't been a king, he was sure the ferian had stood before him with his arms crossed. Not that Fíli cared. He cared for none of these ferien, he only cared for one. And she was not among them. Still, Fíli remained as polite as possible, reminding himself of Dwalins words of wisdom. Frêllian would not approve of him disrespecting her people. Especially not her right-handed man.

'What kind of disagreement,' he wanted to know.

'Nothing too important, your grace.' A scoff was heard from the ferian next to Canwrîf, but the ferian ignored him. 'But it seems not all of us share the same fondness, that our queen has for you. So she ordered for me to show them that they were indeed wrong. And I must admit, that I myself am included as well.'

Fíli gave a nod as the ferian stopped. He did appreciate his honesty. He wondered out loud what he could do, to help them have a change of heart. Though the reply was not one he had expected.

'Free Frêllian,' said Canwrîf. 'Allow her to return your heart and give back hers. She refuses to marry, for she will only have you.'

For a moment Fíli didn't know what to say or even how he felt. He felt joyous at the thought of her still loving him. Yet at the same time he was angry for the ferian to even suggest such a thing. No, he was beyond angry, he was furious.

Still, he remained silent as he tried to calm himself down. It would do him no good if he was to start a fight with the ferian. No, he would remain calm and prove them wrong anyway.

'It seems you are not well educated about dwarves, Canwrîf,' he slowly began as he clenched his fist to contain his anger. 'As much as I would wish for Frêllian to return my heart, I'm afraid I can't. For dwarves only love once. Frêllian has captured my heart, I will never be able to love another.'

'And what about duty?' This time it was the darker haired ferian that stood next to Canwrîf. 'Do you not have a duty as king? The duty to produce an heir?'

'My line will end, yes,' Fíli confessed. Not even a bit of remorse was felt, for he had long found peace with it. 'The closest of my kin will then claim the throne after me.'

'And what of Frêllian? She has the duty to continue her line, she is our alpha supreme. She has to find herself a mate to ensure her line will not be broken.'

'Your queen is only part dwarf.' Fíli felt his heart clench as he spoke. The thought of her being with another pained him more than any battle would he had ever received. But never had he spoken more truer words. 'While it pains me to say so, if she is to find herself another, then I will not stop her from finding her own happiness. And even if it were to start out as duty and not love, then I wish for her, she will eventually find herself to love him as I will always love her.'

He watched as the ferien glanced at eachother, muttering in their own tongue, before returning their attention towards Fíli once more.

'That is a generous wish indeed, king Fíli, King under the Mountain.' Canwrîf bowed his head once again. 'So we can trust our alliance will not falter when our queen will marry another?'

'My loyalty to your queen will never change and neither our alliance.'

Fíli was too preoccupied with the ferien, he had only now notice that Dwalin now stood behind them. His arms crossed, yet a proud grin showed from underneath his beard. Though it wouldn't stay for long. For the moment Canwrîf made an announcement neither of the dwarves had expected, Fíli shouted out in anger.

'What do you mean, she is to be married soon. Was this all just a test?'

His shouts echoed through the mountain as he let all information sink. These ferien hadn't come to change the way they thought about him. No, they had come to test him, wanting to know where he stood, before telling him that the woman he loved would marry another.

He was beyond enraged now, even if he tried to compose himself. His body shook, his blue eyes dark as he glared at his visitors. Yet, took a deep breath and his voice was calm as he spoke. Perhaps too calm, by the worried look Dwalin gave him.

'I guess gratulations are in order then.' His voice was void of emotion. 'I wish queen Frêllian all the luck. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other business to attend to.'

Fíli made an attempt to stand up, but before he could actually rise to his feet, he was stopped. The cold feeling of metal was pressed against his throat, surprising the dwarf. He should have been angerd by the fact that someone dared attack the king, but he found himself to be more surprised than anything. Especially seeing as his guards made no attempt to protect their king, not even Dwalin. The dwarf only stood frozen in his spot as he watched the attacker.

His heart was beating rapidly in his chest, much to his dismay. He was caught off guard and he did not like it! But then it felt as if his heart stopped beating altogether as his attacker spoke from behind him.

'You would rather watch the world from on your throne, drêgasen,' the familiar feminine voice spoke quietly in his ear. 'Preferring to remain alone, than to be caught without your shield.'

'Frey.' His voice was but a whisper as the said ferian came into his sight. Her dagger still pressed against his throat as she moved.

'Did you even know me and my people had been here for days, before we were eventually allowed inside?' His eyes shifted to Dwalin, who only managed to shrug his shoulders. Apparently just as surprised as he was. 'If not for my persisting knocking on the door, I fear we wouldn't be able to see you at all.'

Her head turned for a moment, to greet her father with a smile on her face. Her ever beautiful face Fíli thought he would never see again. Then her dark blue eyes found his lighter coloured ones. Her lips still turned upwards, though lesser than they had been a moment before, a smile that did not reach her eyes. Then she removed her dagger and took a step back, one foot lowered on step, the other at the top of the stairs.

'You are getting married?'

She didn't even turn her head as she answered her father's surprised shout as he marched closer towards the ferian queen.

'That is the idea,' she said. Her eyes never leaving Fíli's. 'If you will still have me?'

It took him a moment to register her words. But then he let put a shout of excitement and practically jumped from his throne as he reached for the woman he had waited for all these years. Without wasting another moment, he lifted her up effortlessly and spun her around. An actual smile on his face as he did so.

'I will always have you,' he told her softly, as he gently placed her to the ground. 'Always and always, for my heart beats only for you.'

With his hands, he cupped her cheek, wanting to touch her. Make sure she was actually here and not a ghost his mind had made up. She was here. She was actually here!

'I love you, mizimelûh.' She smiled at his words, though still there was a hint of a frown present on her brows. Thus his own brows knitted in a frown as well. 'What's wrong?'

'My people have agreed to our union,' Frêllian began, as she placed a delicate hand on his shoulder. The pressure lost by the thick cloak he had draped over his shoulders. 'A union blessed by Selèna herself.'

'But?'

'But there is a price to pay. A price not payed by gold, nor jewels. My people will want our firstborn child.' She quickly reached out her hands to cup his cheeks, gently lowering his head again as he glared at the ferien behind her. 'My line will continue to lead my people, even if I will no longer remain their queen.'

He looked at her, understanding right away what she was saying. His frown quickly disappeared as he pulled her into his chest. One hand placed on her lower back, the other glaced on the back of her head.

'Then they shall have our firstborn. Be it a son, or a girl.' He looked over her shoulder to look at her people. 'Did you hear me, Canwrîf? You will have your wish, the line of first-born will not be broken. I comply to your demand, as long as I can take Frêllian as my wife.'

The beta simply nodded his head once to show that he had heard.

'If we can trust you on your word, then you can trust on ours. We will remain loyal to our alpha supreme and to you as well.' He bowed, this time an actual bow, not just a nod with the head and the other ferien followed suit. 'You have our word, my alpha.'