There and Back Again

Chapter Sixteen: Moving into the Mountain

"You don't have a lot of stuff," Balin stated with a frown upon his face, eyeing the little that Thalia and the twins had with them and he was a little concerned with how unprepared they had seemed for the trip they had endured. 

The three small packs could not hold much and Balin knew that new wardrobes would need to be ordered, he would make a quick mention of it to Dis when he saw her knowing she had a seamstress that could be discrete. 

"It was an unexpected trip... Gandalf's doing," Thalia murmured, she could not believe that she was so unprepared and what little that they did have had been gifted to them. 

The last time that she had been here, Gandalf had been stealing her things for months in preparation for her arrival; this time there had been no such preparation for her or the twins. 

Thalia peeked over at the twins, she was a little nervous about the move and she could not help but wonder about what lay ahead for them in the mountain. 

No matter the reason, there was always going to be things that could go wrong and Thalia wished that she could see what might come her way; she longed for some sign that she was doing the right thing. 

There was silence at Thalia's words and Balin nodded his head, he was not even surprised that the wizard was up to his old tricks again and he wondered what Gandalf had planned this time. 

Though the fact that a company had been put together to destroy the one ring before it could fall into the wrong hands, made Balin wonder if Gandalf had hoped that having Thalia around would say things in his favour. 

"We should get moving," Balin insisted knowing that the people of Erebor would likely not notice the moving in if they left now. 

It was early in the morning and while there would be dwarves about, Balin did hold hope that Thalia's arrival with the twins would go unnoticed. 

Thorin had not made an announcement about the twins just yet and Balin could only imagine how that would go down when it was revealed that the King had two illegitimate children. 

There were people that would be upset about the sudden arrival of Thalia and the twins, especially those who cared little for the role that Thalia had played in winning back the mountain.

***

"Here we are," Balin announced reaching the quarters that now belonged to Thalia, it was rather a large place for her and the twins and he had made sure that they were comfortable enough for them. 

Pushing the door to the main chamber open, Balin walked inside sure that they would be okay; he could not imagine that Thorin would allow his own children to go without, they would be well cared for no matter what happened. 

The main chamber consisted of a large living area and a nice fireplace that had already been lit, there had already been ladies assigned to Thalia but they could be introduced later on. 

"If there is anything you require then please let me know," Balin mused looking around, it was not far away from the rooms where Thorin, Dís, Fili and Kíli were stationed. 

Of course, Thorin had ordered him to not mention exactly what rooms Thalia was now to call her own; though the Council would likely have kittens when they realised that Thalia and the twins were in the chambers set aside for the Queen. 

The last person to use them had been Thorin's grandmother if Balin correctly remembered his mother never having the chance to use them since she had never been Queen under the Mountain since they had been forced to flee the mountain before Thrór became King.