Chapter 2

It had not taken long for Hertha to lose her way after leaving the balcony. Not that it bothered her, she was not particularly hungry, and the architecture of the mountain kept her entertained. She did not know how long she had stood there, in the middle of a grand corridor, with her head all the way back gazing at the ceiling. She was studying the intricate design that somebody had taken the time to carve into it, when somebody call out her name. She barely noticed it, it was only the movement in the corner of her left eye that made her look away. There stood an old dwarf with a white mane and a long forked beard. Hertha smiled broadly.

"Lord Balin! How nice to see you again!"

"The pleasure is all mine, Lady Hertha" the old dwarf replied. He glanced up at the ceiling.

"Are you enjoying our dwarven architecture so much that you have lost your way yet again? "

"Oh, one could say that! I had found a lovely balcony far up the mountain side, but a dwarf who seemed to need the isolation more than I asked me to leave. I somehow ended up here." Hertha looked around. "Where exactly is … here?"

Balin chuckled. He had meet her the day before while she appeared to be wandering around with a confused glaze over her eyes. He had soon understood that beside her lack of direction she was a wise lady, with whom he had had a long conversation with concerning the rebuild of Erebor.

"Would you like me to escort you back to your home? I truly enjoyed your company the prior day."

"I would love that, both the escort and the company." Her smile broadened. The old dwarf offered his arm, which she gratefully accepted.

As they descended a long flight of stairs, the old dwarf asked of her day. Hertha proceeded to tell him about the balcony, the view and how she hoped that the rebuild of Lake Town was hasted as much as the rebuild of Erebor.

"... Erebor is still vulnerable, and if there was ever a time for others to take it away from the line of Durin, it is now." She finished.

The pair stopped in front of a doorway. "Aye, lass. Lake Town is of great importance. " Balin agreed. Hertha looked around, realising that they had stopped in front of her home.

"Thank you so much for escorting me home Lord Balin."

"No troubles Lady Hertha, I was heading this way already." The old dwarf smiled.

"Oh, and before I forget." Balin grabbed under his coat and pulled out a leatherbound book.

" I smuggled this from the kings study. It tells the story of Erebor and the line of Durin. I thought you would appreciate it." The old dwarf said as he handed it to her.

Thorin found himself looking at the sketchings more often than he cared to admit. It had now been two weeks since the rather unpleasant, and embarrassing, encounter on the balcony. He had returned there every day since, hoping to meet the dwarven maid yet again, to properly apologize. But he had had no luck. Because of his anger he had not listened well enough when she had introduces herself, leaving him unable to find her in the registry.

Today he arrived on the balcony later than usual, he had been held back by a meeting regarding the rebuilding of Erebor. When arriving in the dark doorway he stopped abruptly. There, leaning on the railing, gazing out on the lands below, stood a dwarrodam. Her wild curls were tamed into a braid, her dress blue like the flags of Erebor. Suddenly Thorin wished to turn around and hide. He had never turned away from a fight, but the embarrassing memory made him question if this was not a fight to turn away from. Not that he did. He knew they would meet at one point or another, he was king, and he doubted that she would leave Erebor because of an embarrassing encounter. Taking a deep breath the king stepped out of the shadows and towards the dwarrowdam. She did not notice him at first, but when she did, she curtsied. When her head came up from the gesture, Thorin saw that, much to his surprise, she was smiling at him.

"Good day, Master Dwarf. I hope that you are feeling better?"

Thorin, taken back by her unusual behaviour towards him, just stood there. He had wronged her, and yet she stood there smiling at him, a smile he could only describe as genuine.

".. Yes, very much so, my Lady." He hastily replied when he realized he had just stood there for a minute.

"But I wish to apologize to you. I had had a bad day, but it was not in my place to behave so poorly towards you, you had done nothing wrong."

"All is forgotten, you need not apologize." The dwarf smiled. She shifted a leatherbound book from one arm to the other. Thorin recognised it instantly, he had spent his youth reading it.

Trying to disguise his irritation, he asked her how she came upon the book.

" Lord Balin, one of the kings advisors, lent it to me. But you mustn't tell anyone, least of all the king. I do not wish for Lord Balin to be in trouble because of me. "

Thorin simply stood there. It did no surprise him that Balin had done so, what had taken him by surprise was her choice of words.

" You have not met the king, my Lady?" He stated, more than asked.

Hertha shook her head. " I fell ill upon arriving, and there has simply not been a time that was right since. "

Thorin stared in disbelief. For the first time in weeks, he was unrecognized. For the first time in weeks the dwarf who stood in front of him was unfamiliar with the fact that his face was the face of the king. Thorin felt his lips curl upwards. Here he had found someone who seemed to have nothing to gain from being his friend, but to simply be his friend. But just as the overwhelming sense of relief came bursting over him, a suspicion found its way to his thoughts; perhaps her lack of knowledge was rehearsed, perhaps she knew very well who he was and was playing an intricate game with him.

Torn from his thoughts and suspicions by the sudden realization that she had asked him a question, Thorin looked up and muttered an apology.

" I asked for your name, Master Dwarf." Hertha smiled.

Thorin had an internal battle. Should he tell her who he was? If he did not do so now, she would definitely find out at a later time, and be angry with him. But if he did tell her, she would most definitely behave differently towards him.

"Thorin…" He answered evasively.

"Well, Lord Thorin, it is a pleasure to meet you properly. Hertha, at your service.", replied the lady, who seemed to have a heart far too large for her fragile figure. And curtsied.

"No, Lady Hertha, it is my pleasure." Thorin bowed, and he truly meant it.

Thorin joined her at the balcony, and they both stood there for what seemed like eons gazing out at the land below, not saying a word. The silence that arose, was not awkward, it was a pleasant, warm silence.

"Are you finding Erebor to your liking?" The king finally asked.

"Yes, very much so. But I wish that I had a map of this mountain, so that I would not get so lost. You know, I've been trying to find this balcony again since we last spoke, but I have had no luck till now."

Thorin shifted his gaze from his land below to the maiden to his right.

"If it would help, I could draw up a map for you, Lady Hertha." "Could you! Oh, that would be lovely!"

She spun around, hastily retrieving her basket from the back wall. Meanwhile, Thorin seated himself on the ground, watching her with amusement. Her air was completely different to those dwarfs he usually spent his time with.

-That is because most of them are warriors and do not bathe regularly, idiot.

It was more than that, he found himself relaxing more for every minute that passed in her company.

Hertha looked up and was surprised to find the king on the ground. Of course it was the king, it had to be. How many nobles named Thorin lived under this mountain? Most likely only one, and he ruled it. But as he seemingly did not want to introduce himself as king, she did not address him as it. She made a mental note to ask Lord Balin about this.

She seated herself beside him, taking paper, a quill and an inkpot from the basket. At first, Hertha watched as Thorin began to draw an intricate map, but when he was done with the first of the great halls, she picked up the leatherbound book and began to read. The pleasant silence arose yet again, the only thing one could hear was their synchronized breaths, the turning of pages and the quills scratching on paper.

As the hours passed, the balcony fell into the shadows. Hertha noticed the cold first when she was properly cold. She shivered, drawing her knees up to her chin and hugging her arms around them. A while had passed since the book was finished, and she was now gazing at the dwarf next to her who had fallen into a slumber. She smiled to herself upon realizing that she was probably not the only one enjoying the silent company. Hertha grabbed one of the maps. It showed how Hertha could get from her home to the balcony. The more she studied it, the more her smile broadened. It had small notes around the edges, telling her that "This way is not yet safe" or "This way to the Hall of Kings".

She looked at Thorin again. His eyes now awake and fixed on her. Hertha hesitated for a moment, before putting the map down, and extending her hand to him. He accepted and she squeezed his tightly.

"Thank you, Thorin. So much."

The dwarf bowed his head, and with a smile squeezed her hand in return.

"It is my pleasure."

Hertha suddenly became aware of the situation. Here she sat, actually she had been sitting for hours, on a remote balcony, with a dwarf she had only just met. Who was squeezing her hand. It was not proper. Not proper at all. She reluctantly retracted her hand. As much as she loved the feeling she got in his company, to be able to fully relax and show her full and true character, it was not proper. She cleared her throat to excuse herself, as the king spoke again.

"Perhaps we should be getting back. It is quite late, and if I am not mistaken, supper will be served soon."

She nodded. "Yes, you are right."

They tidied up in silence. It was not the same silence at before. It lay heavy, as if there was something to be said, but no words to be found.

Hertha cleared her throat again.

"Though it may not be proper of two dwarves of the opposite sex to spend time alone in such a remote location I very much enjoyed your company and I have found a friend in you and I would be very happy if we could meet up here from time to time..." It was not till she finished that she had realized she had not taken a single breath while speaking. Embarrassed by speaking so truthfully to someone who was practically a stranger, she looked at her feet.

After a prolonged silence she realized he had not yet spoken, and she raised her head and found his eyes crinkled with half a dozen crows feet reaching out to touch his temples and his lips curling upwards to form a broad grin.

"Nothing would bring me more pleasure than to be able to enjoy your company again."

Authors' note:

This fanfic basically happened because I (Hanne) asked what would happen if Thorin met a dwarf who was not loud, whom trouble did not follow and who had a calm nature(because Thorin usually meets dwarrowdams who speak their mind, get into trouble and have a short temper).So this is us(both writers and readers) finding it out. It is our first fanfiction, so we really appreciate your thoughts on it! Also, thank you so much to those of you who have followed, favorited and reviewed so far. It makes it so much more fun to write!

Happy belated Valentine, Sofie and Hanne