Story requested on my tumblr multifandomhaven.
The fight had been a long, brutal battle, and Camilla had been injured. Her leg had been badly sliced by one of the orc's swords, just above her knee. Oin had wrapped it and applied the proper poultice to it, reminding her that she must be as gentle as possible on her leg if she wished for it to heal correctly. Camila told that she understood, and offered a nod of thanks.
She had since gone off, not so far as to be unsafe, into the woods for some time alone. Her leg stung horribly when she stood, and she had attempted not to let it show on her face. She couldn't show pain around the others. She had to be tough, unyielding.
The dwarves already weren't very keen on having a woman as a part of their company, to them it was too much of a risk. They'd hfave to watch out for her and it only placed more of a burden on them.
Camilla didn't want to slow them down, either. She wanted Thorin to have his throne. He deserved it more than any other man, dwarf or elf that had ever lived.
During her time with the dwarves she'd began to grow feelings for the dwarf king. He was honorable, strong, and one of the best warriors she'd ever seen.
And although he was beginning to support her presence among them he, too, would try to watch after her on the battlefield, somehow finding his way to her and keeping her behind him as much as he could. The others had noticed and began to talk, but no one ever brought it up to Thorin. They knew he would not take kindly to such gossip.
"Are you alright?" The King Under the Mountain's gruff voice shocked Camilla from her thoughts. He came from behind a large tree, his blue eyes trained on her face. "How's your leg?"
Camilla looked down at the bandage. "I'm alright. Just allow me to sit for a while and I'll be as good as new, I reckon."
Thorin inclined his head slightly, looking more kingly than she'd ever seen him. "You don't have to lie to me, you know."
Camilla lowered her head, regret filing her at his words. "It's very painful, but nothing I can't handle."
"We can afford a day of rest if you should require it," Thorin told her, his voice lowered. "No one will think you weak."
Camilla shook her head at him, her long, golden hair whipping around her wildly in the wind. "I'm fine, Thorin. There's no need to stop. We need to get to Erebor as quickly as we can. I want to help you reclaim your home, and we can't do that if we stop every time I get a bug bite."
"'That's more than a bug bite, lass," Thorin argued. "It is a true wound, and you must allow it time to heal."
"Perhaps I shouldn't have come along." Camilla's voice was quiet, ashamed. "Maybe the others were right."
Thorin's heavy boots thudded toward her. "Do not speak so lowly of yourself. I am glad you've made your place among us."
Tears of shame burned the backs of her eyes, but she sniffed them back. "If I just... If I were quicker I could have dodged it. We could be moving right now, and we're not. It's my fault."
The wind caught her hair once again and she sighed and knocked it back around her shoulders angrily.
Thorin was beside her now, his large hand coming forward to thread his fingers in her wild hair. "May I?"
Camilla nodded and scooted forward on the rock she was sitting on.
Thorin's hands went to work, quickly braiding and tying her curls until they were a single, solid mass down her back. Camilla offered a weak smile in thanks, that he returned, his eyes soft. "May I ask something of you?"
His stare was fierce, the blues of his eyes like fire. Camilla shrunk under his gaze, but nodded anyway. "Of course."
"When we reclaim Erebor, and we will do so with you in our company, I would ask you to rule with me. To become my Queen."
Camilla's eyes widened as his fingers traced the side of her neck. "Thorin," Camilla whispered, her voice weak. "Truly?"
"You keep speaking Erebor as if it is only a home for me," Thorin said quietly. "But the truth is Erebor would be empty without you, for when I am with you, I'm home."
Camilla smiled at him, the most genuinely happy she'd felt in years. "Now I have a reason to work even harder toward our goal. Let's go reclaim our home, my king."