Chapter Four

Thorin hadn't slept well for a few nights now, so although he hadn't drunk much last night, he woke up later than normal the next day. He was still up well before Rori though. He let her sleep, knowing that the only real cure for a hangover was rest and that he was to blame for her over indulgence.

He had seen to the ponies then saddled and loaded them and, unused to inaction, he decided to take their flasks to the river and refilled them, even though they would be following the river all day. By the time he got back, Rori was awake and rummaging through her bags.

"Morning," he said as pleasantly as he could. He could tell from a small cut on her cheek that she had already shaved that morning.

Rori mumbled a reply as she dropped some power into a little water and swallowed it in one mouthful, grimacing at the taste.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Willow bark." she said, swigging some pure water from a flask. "It helps," she said.

"I saw a new side of you last night," Thorin said. "And I thought your rendition of the Song of Durin was truly deserving of a wider audience."

Rori blushed. "I didn't really sing that, did I?" Her memories of last night were decidedly fuzzy.

"You really did," he said smiling. "But my favourite thing was when you kissed me and told me that I could have my wicked way with you."

"I- I- I-..." She turned away, not knowing what to say. How could she have thrown herself at him? Yes, he was a virile man and she was certainly attracted to him, but people like her did not throw themselves at people like him! Not even when drunk!

"I'm so sorry," she said, her voice small. "I would never want to embarrass you like that or-"

He had thought that he would enjoy teasing her but seeing how mortified she looked, he was beginning to regret it.

"You did sing," he said, coming up behind her and putting his hands on her shoulders. "But you didn't kiss me, I made that part up."

He wasn't prepared for her to turn around and punch him. She may have been slight for a dwarf but she still packed a punch! She continued to hit his arm as she advanced on him.

"Of all the low down, cheap tricks, you-"

As Thorin moved backwards his heal slipped on a lose stone and he fell, landing on his arse.

"Oh no!" Rori cried, immediately realising that, one, you shouldn't hit or shout at your king no matter what he had done and two, you shouldn't let him land on his arse. Surely this was treason or something equally heinous. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" she asked kneeling down beside him.

To her surprise, Thorin burst out laughing. He had found her fiery outburst incredibly sexy but at the same time, he couldn't believe that a slight thing like her had just caused him to fall! The predicament was too funny for words.

Rori still looked panicked though so he did his best to quell his laughter, though he couldn't stop his smile.

"Shall we call it even?" he asked, sitting up.

"You're not angry?" He saw hope blossom in her eyes.

"Well, I suppose technically you did strike your monarch."

She looked down, ashamed.

"My lord, I-"

"I could be persuaded to overlook it I suppose... for a kiss."

She looked at him, this time surprised. He waited for an answer but when one didn't come, he decided to press his luck. He closed the space between them and gently pressed his lips against hers. She closed her eyes so he followed suit then deepened the kiss. She tasted sweet, a little like pineapples.

He had never felt a simple kiss so deeply before and he was loath to end it but knowing that he shouldn't push her too far, he pulled away and watched her. Her expression was hard to read but he thought that she enjoyed it; and indeed she had.

By some freak of nature, only about a third of dwarves were female, as such female dwarves approaching 100, full maturity in a dwarf, get their fair share of attention. Which is not to say that males are lining up at the door of single women, indeed many males didn't seem interested in finding a wife and those that were were very respectful. Mating in the dwarf world was for life and no one took it lightly. She had been on a few outings with men she thought that she might like but she had only liked two of them enough to try kissing them and neither time had been anything like that!

As his lips touched hers she felt strange, as if she had come home, although she couldn't tell you what she meant by that.

Suddenly she realised that the kiss had ended some moments ago and though reluctant to break the spell, she opened her eyes.

The look on Thorin's face was unusual. He looked... not exactly happy but very content, as though he would have no regrets if he had died this very moment. Rori felt much the same and smiled shyly. Thorin reached out and cupped her cheek, his thumb lightly running over the smooth skin he found there.

Unfortunately the spell was broken as a deer charged past them, a wolf hot on it's heels, and they pulled away from each other.

Rori didn't know what to say and Thorin was feeling much the same. He wanted to declare his love for her but he knew that she was skittish and so he decided to leave it for now.

"We should move on," he said, getting to his feet. "We have already lost almost two hours of daylight."

Rori nodded and took the hand he offered her to help her up. Her headache was gone and she had to wonder how much of that was due to the willow bark and how much was because of Thorin's kiss. Willow bark wasn't usually this effective!

They rode off together and today Rori actually asked Thorin if he had heard the story of how the Lonely Mountain got it's name. He had but he wanted to hear her version of the story, and that took them up to lunchtime when they stopped briefly to eat. That afternoon she asked him to tell her the story of one of his battles, which surprised him but he began telling her about the quest to reclaim Erebor.

Rori listened with great interest. Everyone had heard the story of the quest but few got to hear it from a first hand source. Thorin was a pretty good story teller, she decided, knowing when to skip ahead and when to slow down, according to how interesting that portion of the story was. He seemed hesitant towards the end of the telling, once Smaug was dead and they had reclaimed the mountain. She knew from other versions that he regretted some of his actions before the battle began so she didn't press him for information.

He finished the story of the battle over dinner that evening and then they slept.

Over the next few days they traded stories. Sadly Rori had very few tales of her own to relay but she had plenty of other peoples stories that she could tell. He asked about her journey from the Blue Mountains to the Iron Hills when she was young, but her father had chosen the longest and safest route possible, so she didn't even have any stories to relate from that adventure.

They came across a few ruins as they crossed Rhudaur but no dwellings that were habitable, which was rather a shame as summer finally said goodbye, only to be replaced by storms and what felt like endless days of rain.

They were miserable but kept up their conversations and stories while they travelled. They had no choice but to erect their tents every evening now, which left them less travelling time each day.

Finally they came across the bridge that crossed the river Horawell and from there they could travel the East and then North road's (which had been built by Dwarves in the first age) all the way to the Blue Mountains. Their spirits rose, knowing that the Shire (and warm, indoor accommodations) could not be too far away now.

Neither of them spoke of their kiss but they both frequently thought about it. Rori trying to pluck up the courage to kiss him again and Thorin wondering if he would scare her if he tried again.

As the sunlight faded on the day that they had crossed the bridge, Thorin suggested they should find a camp soon, even though they had hardly gone five miles on the East Road.

"If we only erected one tent, we could travel for longer, couldn't we?" Rori asked, wondering at her own courage for even suggesting such a thing. She was eager to reach civilisation again, even if it was only hobbit villages, but she was also eager to get closer to Thorin. Every evening he sat in her tent so that they could talk but he had always returned to his own tent when it came time to sleep, and each night she felt a little more bereft when he left.

As he had started telling her stories, sharing parts of his life with her, she forgot to see him as her king and slowly she had started to see him as a friend. Suddenly he didn't seem so imposing, nor so out of her league. Indeed he laughed at her jokes, allowed her to laugh at his stories and even though the weather had been miserable, they had enjoyed their evenings undercover. The cover of the tent allowed them to feel a level of privacy that camping outside hadn't afforded.

Thorin looked over at her after her bold suggestion, his gaze inscrutable.

"We could," he finally agreed.

"Then let's ride on," she said, though feeling the need to add, "The further we go each day, the sooner we'll reach an inn." She didn't want to embarrass herself by declaring her feelings for him, after all.

"Right," Thorin said, smiling to himself.

They rode for a further half an hour before finally turning off the road to find a place to camp. It still took quite a while to unsaddle, dry off, place the rugs on the ponies and erect a tent, so it was dark by the time they had finished.

Each tent was supposed to sleep two but really that was all there was room for. Rori lit her oil lamp so that she could see to shave but the light wasn't good enough and she nicked her cheek on the first stroke.

"Here, let me," Thorin offered.

He also didn't have much light, but at least he didn't have the drawback of needing to use a mirror. Besides, Rori quite liked the idea of settling in his lap. Thorin sat facing the side of the tent, positioned everything he needed, then gestured for her to lay down. She settled her head in his lap, thinking that she didn't mind shaving so much now, in fact she was growing rather irritated by her stubble growth each day as it itched. She closed her eyes but Thorin noticed that she had a small smile on her lips and he was confident that they wouldn't have a repeat of the last time he had tried this. He took his time, enjoying the chance to study her unhindered.

As each new piece of skin was revealed, he caressed it with the back of a finger, causing her smile to grow a little wider for a moment every time he did it.

When finally he was finished and had dried her off, she opened her eyes but made no move to sit up. Thorin placed his right hand on her hair and began to stroke it for a few moments.

Rori sat up and turned to face him. Slowly she reached out and began to unpick one of his braids. Despite their waterproofs, the weather had taken its toll on both their hair and although it was unusual for anyone but loved ones to groom each other, Thorin was pleased by her actions. She gently unpicked all his braids then took his comb and began to work the tangles out as gently as she could. Once she had finished with his beard, he turned around to allow her to work on his hair properly.

By the time she was finished, his hair was dry and she separated some strands out and carefully re-braided them. He turned around once more to allow her to braid the front of his hair and his beard. When she was done, she smiled hesitantly at him and presented him with a mirror. Thorin didn't think he'd ever looked finer, even when dressed in full battle armour.

"May I?" he said, holding his hand out for the comb.

It was one thing for Thorin to help her after the faerie had tangled her hair, and his eagerness to shave her could be put down to curiosity, but offering to groom her when she didn't need help was something far more. Rori handed him the comb and turned around so that he could do the same to her.

As she sat there she marvelled that she was sharing something so intimate with him. She had been so shy when they began this trek, so in awe of him and so unsure of herself that she almost couldn't believe how comfortable she felt with him now. She didn't even mind not having a beard, in fact every time she caught him staring at her naked face, he had this small smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes and made him look warm and tender, nothing like the hard, awe-inspiring king his subjects thought him to be.

It was also nice to just be with him and not feel the need to talk. For so much of this journey they had been talking or swapping stories but now she knew that talking wasn't necessary to enjoy being with him, for his company alone was enough.

She closed her eyes as the soft patter of rain on the tent roof and his gentle brush strokes began to sooth her. By the time he had finished she felt so content that if she had been a cat, she would surely have purred.

She turned back to him, taking the mirror he handed her and putting it aside without looking at herself, for she couldn't possibly look as beautiful as she felt under his warm gaze. She slowly leaned forward and pressed a kiss against his lips.

"Thank you," she said, meaning more than just the grooming.

Thorin smiled.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

Rori nodded. After what they had just shared, she had been expecting that he would want more from her, and that thought both thrilled and frightened her in equal measure. She took his lack of pressure as a sign of respect however, and it warmed her heart.

In truth Thorin did want more from her and respecting her boundaries wasn't the only reason he was waiting. Inside an old animal skin tent on wet ground, was not where he wanted his first time with her to be. He would have preferred his bed chamber in Erebor, with it's privacy, luxury sheets and warm animal fur covers, however he didn't think that he could wait that long!

Still, she would have the best accommodations that he could find, something befitting a queen, for he already knew that she was his mate. Rori was probably too young to have realised the importance of their first kiss but he was nearly 200 and without a shadow of a doubt, he knew that it meant that she was his soulmate, his queen and his other half.

It was perfect really; he was strong and a good warrior while Rori was small and only an average fighter. He was hot tempered while Rori had a naturally calm nature. He had little time for learning and facts while Rori was a positive fount of knowledge. She completed him in a way no other dwarf ever had. They completed each other.

They ate a simple meal and then decided that they needed to sleep. Rather presumptuously, Thorin laid out only two skins, one as a ground sheet then only one larger one over it as a cover. Rori climbed in beside him. They were both mostly dressed so she didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised when he simply pulled her to him and allowed her rest her head (somewhat hesitantly) on his shoulder.

III

The next two days were just as miserable weather wise but by unspoken agreement, they shared one tent every night, which more than compensated for the miserable days.

When they finally reached the trading town of Bree, where they could rest for a few days and restock their supplies, both were relieved. It was twilight and they were looking forward to a hot meal and a comfy bed out of the rain.

"I think I have callouses developing on my bum," Rori said as she dismounted. It had been an awfully long time since she had spent so much time in a saddle; not since her family had originally left the Blue Mountains in fact.

Thorin smiled and took a quick look. Calloused or not, it looked good from where he was standing.

Her outfit, odd though it was, did nothing to hide her attractiveness. She wore a male hobbits clothes because they were easier to ride in and since the bad weather had started, she wore her longer dwarf trousers so that the rain water didn't collect in her booots, which she had to wear since there was no hiding the fact that her feet were not hobbit sized. It was unusual for hobbits to wear shoes but not unheard of, especially in bad weather.

They stabled the ponies at the Prancing Pony Inn, where they could rest in the dry and be well taken care of, then Thorin went into the inn and booked two rooms, one for him and an adjacent hobbit sized room for Rori. He introduced her as a Rori Teller, a Fallowhide hobbit from the north. Rori had informed him that was the perfect story because Fallowhides were the tallest of the hobbit clans, fair haired, more friendly with other races than most hobbits and they came from the north, quite a distance from the Shire. They were also the rarest kind of hobbit, meaning that they would be very unlucky to run into anyone who could question her about her origins.

The Innkeeper showed Rori to her room first and she put her bags down, took her cloak off and laid down on the bed.

Rori hadn't liked it when Thorin had booked two separate rooms for them but she supposed she shouldn't be surprised. Of course he didn't want to be publicly associated with her. She was not his equal after all and if anyone should discover that she was a dwarf and not a hobbit, he would be further shamed by associating with a beardless dwarf.

Still, lying on a clean mattress, she was too happy to dwell on that now. How lovely it would be to sleep inside and on a proper bed for a few nights, then she thought that it would be even lovelier to have a hot bath.

That thought spurred her to get off the bed and examine the bathroom. Unfortunately the bathroom was tiny and the bath even tinier, so small that she wouldn't be able to recline in it. Still, it was better than a cold wash every morning so she turned the taps on and undressed, only to be interrupted a moment later by a knock on her door.

She pulled her travelling cloak on to cover herself up and opened the door expecting the innkeeper to be there, instead she found Thorin standing before her. His gaze quickly took in the cloak, which she was holding closed, and he smiled.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked, though he knew full well that he was.

"I was about to bathe," she said simply.

Thorin pushed passed her, went into the bathroom and turned the taps off. He came out and closed her curtains, then he untucked the covers on the bed and began rumpling them up.

"What are you doing?" she asked, thoroughly perplexed by his actions and looking at him as though he was half mad.

"Keeping up appearances," he said as he went through her bags and began throwing items of clothing over the end of the bed. Finally done, he picked up her other bags and slung them over his shoulder, grabbed her hand and almost dragged her from her room and along the corridor to his room.

She stood by his doorway, still holding her cloak closed and slightly shocked at having been practically dragged down the hallway, half naked (okay maybe that was an exaggeration but that's how she felt with only a riding cloak protecting her modesty).

Thorin began unpacking her bag, hanging her clothes, placing her comb on the table and her wash bag in the bathroom. When he came back out he realised that she still hadn't moved.

"What?" he asked,

"I- I..."

"You didn't think I was going to sleep alone, did you?"

Part of Rori was pleased that he wanted her with him and she didn't relish the idea of sleeping alone either but at the same time, she was also slightly afraid of what "sleeping" might involve.

Thorin had no intention of pushing her into anything she didn't feel ready for but he also accepted that, whether she had admitted it or not, she was his mate now. Dwarf couples could be parted from each other when necessary but when given the choice, they disliked sleeping alone and were generally restless. Thorin knew that neither of them would sleep a wink knowing that the other was just down the hallway.

"Just sleeping," he assured her as he came up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Besides, my bath is bigger. Go on," he said gesturing for her to head into the bathroom.

She did as he said and he heard the door lock behind her. Which was a damn good thing really because now all he could think about was what she would look naked, lathering up her arms and...

He cut that thought off there or he would be in danger of joining her, locked door or not! He went back into her room and collected a few more possessions that she would need, such as her boots and the clothes she had simply dropped as she dis-robbed. He then collected his own dirty clothes and took them down to the innkeeper for washing. They had done the best they could while travelling, washing items in rivers and such and hanging them from tree branches to dry, but there was no substitute for a proper clean. Besides, with the rain of late they hadn't had a chance to wash anything for over a week.

He then headed into the bar and ordered a pint of ale to keep himself occupied and by the time he got back to the room, Rori was fully dressed and had just finished combing out her hair in front of the wall mirror above the writing desk.

"You weren't long," he sounded surprised.

"No, well I thought you might want a bath too. I ran you a fresh one but you might need to add some more hot water."

Thorin nodded. "I ordered two meals to be sent up," he said. "They should be here soon."

"I'll take care of it," she assured him.

Thorin headed into the bathroom, closing although not locking the door behind him.

Rori looked around the room. There wasn't a table to eat from so there was nothing that she could set up. She wanted to climb into bed and eat there, but it would raise more than a few eyebrows to find a 'hobbit' in a dwarfs room as it was, let alone in his bed! She stayed at the writing desk and decided to write a shopping list for tomorrow, at least that way it would look like she was working.

There came a knock at the door and she opened it to find a serving girl carrying a large tray.

Finding herself facing a hobbit rather than a dwarf, the girl hesitated.

"Is this Thorin Oakenshield's room?" she asked.

"Yes. He's enjoying a bath. I'm Rori," she held her hand out. "His translator."

"Oh," she girl smiled, pleased that her presumptions were wrong. Not that she frowned upon interracial relationships, they just weren't very common at all and she had been slightly wrong footed. "I hear he's a bit of a tyrant," the girl confessed softly as she set up a portable table and laid the food out.

"At one time he may have been, but he's been very pleasant to me and I think his people have a great respect for him." Rori wanted to be stronger in her defence of him but it would probably look odd, so she bit her tongue.

"Oh, well," the girl finished laying out the food and drink, then turned to Rori. "Enjoy your meals."

Rori was pleased to close the door behind her. This was the first time she'd really tried to play her roll of hobbit and she was nervous. They had met a few other travellers on their journey but they had never stopped long enough to say more than a few pleasantries to them.

Thoin emerged moments later, dressed only in a towel which was secured at his waist, his long hair was still wet.

"Did I hear our food arriving?" he asked.

Rori was momentarily struck dumb by the sight of him, half naked with his damp skin glistening in the candlelight.

"Rori?" When she didn't answer he turned to face her and found her staring, open mouthed at his chest. Good, it was nice to know he wasn't the only one being effected by their attraction. "Rori?" he tried again. "I see the food arrived," he pointed to the table behind her.

"What?" she looked up at his face then turned to the food and surmised what he must have said. "Oh, yes."

Thorin smiled and took some clean clothes into the bathroom to change. He emerged barely a minute layer, the thought of a hot meal making him hurry.

The food wasn't fine fare but it was hot, tasty and there was lots of it. They washed it down with a pint of ale each and by the time they were finished, both their eyes were growing heavy.

"Come on," he said, heading to the bed.

He undressed but left his long shirt on and climbed under the fur covers. Following his example, Rori did the same and climbed in the other side. She perched on the very edge of the mattress, her back to Thorin until he reached out and pulled her to him.

"I don't bite," he said, which finally relaxed her enough to settle against him and moments later they were both sound asleep.