Hope ↠ LOTR

XIII. Farewell

Their journey was different than it had been. Many lands had been affected by the power of Sauron but everywhere they went they were greeted with smiles nonetheless. They avoided some areas such as Goblin Town and the Woodland Realm but they revelled in the familiar land of the Beornings. Unfortunately, Beorn had died years earlier but the bees had not and they still roamed the lands. Athena found great joy in their presence, laughing and smiling whenever they came near her.

They eventually reached Erebor and stepped into its grand halls, welcomed with open arms. Dáin had sadly been killed in the War of the Ring but nobody forgot that the Dwarves of Erebor held a soft spot for the names of Baggins and Athena. King Thorin III Stonehelm allowed them free passage into their halls and many times the Hobbit and woman would be seen roaming with their Dwarf companions along the prosperous halls and reminiscing about the olden days. Oftentimes they would drink all through the night until all of them fell unconscious from drinking copious amounts of ale, but nobody minded and many of the others joined in to take a break from the recovering of the attack that Sauron had dealt them before he was defeated.

Dale was also thriving under the shadow of the Lonely Mountain, much like Erebor it had been affected by Sauron's forces but the people there were welcoming. There was a tree that stood proudly in the city, blooming even in the aftermath of battle. It was the acorn that Bilbo had gathered from Beorn's garden, he had planted it in Dale sometime during the Battle of the Five Armies.

None of them had the heart to visit Ravenhill.

They had stayed there for many days but now it was their last day in Erebor and Athena found herself walking through the hallways alone. Though she was nervous that did not deter her from where she was going. Her footsteps echoed through the cavernous walls of the crypts, her hands tightly held onto one another while she slowly approached the resting place of Thorin, Fili, and Kili. Upon the platforms where they had lay was an ornate carving made in their likeness to show who was buried in the stone crypt. Taking a deep breath she took a seat on the ground in front of the three tombs, side by side in death as they were in life. When she was comfortable she launched into a tale, telling them all everything that had happened since their passing and never missing out a single detail about her travels or what happened to Erebor in their absence. Then she told them all about the War of the Ring, mentioning how Fili and Kili would have loved Merry and Pippin if they had met one another. Many times her voice almost broke, but she always managed to recover and continue in the stories.

"And that's all I can say really. There isn't anything else that I can think of," she whispered at the end, about to stand up before she remembered that there was something else that she wanted to say, "actually no, there is one more thing. I didn't say this enough so I hope you can hear me. I love you."

At those words she was unable to conceal her tears any longer, and she didn't wish to either. She allowed herself to freely mourn for the three Dwarves she had lost all too soon, her body racking with sobs with her head buried in her hands. She missed them dearly and nothing would be able to fill the hole in her heart that they had left behind, but she had grown to accept that with time and she accepted her grief and her pain and allowed the feeling to coarse through her.

Her crying abruptly halted when she heard footsteps, quickly pushing herself to stand while wiping away the tears that streamed down her cheeks to appear more presentable. When her tears finished clouding her vision she looked to see who had walked in, her eyes landing on a bearded Dwarf woman with long brown locks with streaks of grey, adorned with the occasional braid and regal clothing framing her short stature and emphasising that she was of royal lineage.

"My lady," Athena stumbled to greet her, quickly bowing her head.

"You never have to bow to me," Dís responded before closing the distance between them and bringing her into a much needed hug.