A/N: Thank you so much for your comments, kudos and follows. I am just in awe of your support. Thank you!

The world of the ring felt like being inside a grey and black oil painting. Everything was thick and heavy and swirled around Bilbo as she moved through the Thranduil's palace. At times she feared the thick swirls would leave their marks on her and she'd wind up with streaks of grey across her face and clothes. A soft, persistent voice whispered that perhaps they'd ignore her clothes and just mark her soul and her heart instead. She did her best to ignore the whispers and continued her search for the dwarves.

Up and down and around she went, following elf after elf. She'd take the ring off every so to stare up at the endless corridors that circled above and below.

Oh, give me Rivendell any day, she thought. Give me the bright sun and green grass over the stars. I prefer to have my feet on solid ground.

She finally found the dwarves on the third day after following her nose to the kitchens just in time to see a group of elves gather up trays. Bilbo breathed a sigh of relief so deep she sagged against the wall when she heard the dwarves kick off when they saw their guards returning.

After waiting for the elves to deposit the trays of food to the grumbling and remarkably foul-mouthed dwarves, Bilbo slipped off the ring and rounded the corner. Thorin spotted her first.

"Bilbo!" he said urgently, rushing to the door of his cell.

"I honestly cannot take you all anywhere," she said breathlessly hurrying to his cell door. "Goblins, orcs, now elves? You lot would pick a fight with an Oliphant if given half the chance."

"Our obstinacy is our most endearing quality," Fili called down from his cell above.

"You're all menaces," Bilbo said laughing, "and it's taken me forever to find you. You called the Shire a rabbit warren. This place is confounding."

"Of course, it is," Balin said. "No one is ever meant to leave and certainly no one is ever meant to get anyone out."

"How did you get here?" Ori asked.

Bilbo frowned and felt very reluctant to tell anyone of her ring. It felt as though something heavy gripped her tongue and she could not speak.

"Oh, I, ah," she said brokenly.

"She is our burglar," Thorin said to the others. "I imagine her ways are her own."

Bilbo smiled at him in relief and nodded. "Yes, yes, something like that."

A sound came from the halls above and Bilbo clasped the bars in front of her and leaned in to whisper to Thorin, "Blast! Someone's coming. I haven't figured it out yet, but I will. I'll free you from this place, I promise."

"I have no doubt that you will," he said, his hand covering hers and squeezing gently. "Be careful."

Bilbo grinned and then slipped away down the hall she'd come from, slipping the ring on just as the guards appeared.

After finally finding the dwarves and memorising the way to the cells, Bilbo felt a surge of energy and hope.

It didn't last long.

The winding and confusing palace saw to that fairly quickly.

Even though she'd managed to find more exits from the palace, there was no way she could use any of them to sneak a company of dwarves past the elves that stood guard over them.

It was two more days before she made it back down to the cells, as she hated to go back with bad news. It was full dark by the time she made it down and most of the dwarves had gone to sleep. Balin nodded to her as she passed his cell. Thorin just watched her approach him.

Bilbo slumped down beside his cell and wordlessly, he handed her a roll clearly left over from his supper. She ate it quickly while he just watched her.

Eventually, she said, "This is ridiculous. I'm never going to find a way out."

"You will," he said firmly. "You must."

Bilbo sighed. "I know. But this place is astonishingly well-guarded, not like the last homely house at all. Remember how easy it was to leave there?"

"I do," he said. "I never thought I'd wish to return to an elvish palace, but if I had my choice…"

"Tell me about it," Bilbo muttered and rubbed at her eyes.

"How are you getting around unseen, Bilbo?" he asked softly.

She froze, her hands still pressed to her eyes.

"I know that you are quick and quiet on your feet," he started. "But you look drained, my burglar. How are you doing this?"

"I..." Her hands fell from her eyes and she looked down. The words to tell him of the ring were right there; in her mind, on the tip of her tongue. She bit her lip and worried at it.

"Bilbo?" he whispered.

The concern in his voice broke through her thoughts and she said, "I found a ring in the goblin caves and it turns me invisible."

She gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth, staring at him with wide eyes.

Thorin stared back at her, his eyes wide with surprise but then simply nodded. "I've heard tell of magic trinkets that do not wish to be spoken of. It's a dark, dark magic that our kind never even thought to tinker with."

"It whispers to me sometimes," she managed, the words rasping at her throat like sandpaper. "I…don't want to talk of it." She looked down. "It's such a little thing, after all. And it's terribly useful. How dark can it be?"

A noise came from above and Bilbo hurried to her feet. "I'll return tomorrow. Or sooner if I figure something out."

"Bilbo!" he called softly as his hand grabbed hers as she moved to rush away. "Be careful with it. These things can have minds of their own."

She nodded. "I'll try."

Then she pulled her hand from his and slipped down the hall.

Two nights later found Bilbo once again following the last guards of the evening as they made their rounds around the dwarves' cells. She waited until the last one disappeared back to wherever it was they disappeared to after their shifts and slipped her ring off her finger. She leaned against the wall and stared up into the starlight that shined down into the cells.

She'd made some success in that she found where the keys to the cells were kept, but that knowledge was useless considering she had no idea where to lead the dwarves once she freed them.

Durin's Day was fast approaching and what did she have to show for it? Thirteen imprisoned dwarves and a lost, hapless hobbit.

Frustrated tears pricked behind her eyes and she huffed furiously wrinkling her nose.

"Stop that right this second, Bilbo Baggins," she admonished herself. "Don't you dare become a watering-pot at this time of night."

She swiped at her eyes and walked around the corner to see Thorin standing at his cell door. She had to smile at the sight of him waiting for her.

He, however, frowned when he saw her and said, "You look done in. Sit down, rest awhile." He smirked a little. "We're not going anywhere."

Bilbo snickered half-heartedly and sank to the ground beside his cell, her legs outstretched in front of her. She leaned against the bars of his cell and looked at him. He copied her position and pressed his arm against her as much as he could through the bars.

"Oh, you're warm," she said turning her face into his arm. "You smell terrible, but you're warm."

"Your nose is like ice," he said gesturing for her to give him her hands. "Bilbo, you're freezing."

"It's fine," she said, her voice muffled from where she kept it pressed to his arm. "I'm fine."

"Curl closer to me," he said quietly and she pulled her feet up and turned into him as best as she could. "Mahal damn these bars, I cannot hold you."

"Mmm, is that another attempt at romance?"

"It's my attempt at making sure my burglar doesn't freeze to death," he said. "When I attempt romance, I'll be sure to alert you."

"Good," she said smiling as she nuzzled his shirt. "Oh, Thorin. I think I may be getting too old for this lurking about business." She lifted her head and peered at him. "You may be getting too old for this, too."

She traced a finger along the edge of his brow underneath strands of grey-streaked hair.

"No doubt," he said smiling. "We should be resting on soft cushions while fortifying hot drinks are brought to us."

"Oh, I would do terrible things for a cup of tea and some pipeweed," she sighed.

"I would happily watch you do terrible things, if only to see your version of terrible, which I suspect is only mildly irritating at the most," he said chuckling.

Bilbo stilled and remembered how she butchered the spider in the wood with no thought at all. How the weight of her sword in her hand felt righteous and good and powerful and how it had terrified and thrilled her.

"I'm not so sure," she said softly. "I fear I may be capable of really rather terrible things."

"I don't believe it," he said turning to look at her. "You're troubled. Has something happened?"

"Not yet," she whispered. "But I feel something will."

They sat in silence for a spell. Bilbo leaned fully against Thorin and listened to the spray of the waterfall and the snores of the company around them. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"In Erebor," he said, his voice low and soft. "We have a vast stillroom where the herbs are laid out to dry. And there's a small room right above it that always seemed to capture the scents of the flowers as they dried. It had a large hearth and a fire that always roared." He paused. "I believe I'd invite you there, on a cold night such as this, to warm your hands and bring colour back to your cheeks."

Bilbo lifted her head and looked at him, her eyes wide with wonder and those blasted tears threatened her eyes once again. "It sounds wonderful. I believe I'd accept the invitation."

He smiled at her and she couldn't help but return his smile.

"That was an attempt at romance, by the way," he said.

"I had caught that, yes," she said with a chuckle. "It was a masterful attempt, as well, thank you." She cupped the side of his face. "You're determined to proceed with this courtship, aren't you?"

"As though we've had time for a proper courtship," he said bitterly, "But yes, I'm sure. I feel a completeness when you're near me. As I said before, I don't see myself letting go of that feeling anytime soon."

"Are you sure you aren't doing this simply because you feel you should?" she asked.

"How do you mean?" he replied.

"Well, are you planning too far into the future?" she asked, looking down at their hands and tracing a finger along the hills and valleys of his knuckles.

"You doubt our success?" he said.

She pointedly looked at the bars in front of him. "Not exactly, no, but we don't know what's going to happen, Thorin. Even if, pardon me, when you succeed, I don't know that your people are going to want a hobbit as their queen."

"My people will accept my choice," he said firmly.

"I just… This place," she looked around, "it's dazzling." She shook her head. "I know it's not the same, I know that Erebor is different, but I'm not royalty, Thorin. Not even close. I don't need fine things and I wouldn't know the first thing about ruling something. I can't even find a way out, for goodness' sake!" She lowered her head and whispered, "I think you've picked the wrong person to court."

"I've picked someone honest and true and clever and lovely," he said. "No one will doubt my choice, Bilbo."

"Perhaps I doubt your choice, then," she said her voice cracking.

Bilbo felt him still beside her, his hands going as hard as stone around hers.

"Explain," he said quietly.

"What are we doing, Thorin?" she asked. "Courting? One of us is in a cage and the other is wandering aimlessly through a never-ending palace with nary an exit in sight. I'm only a hobbit and you're the king under the bloody mountain, however said mountain is currently occupied by a dragon, which I'm under contract to steal from, but I can't uphold my contract because we're stuck in this confounding elvish maze!" She glared at him. "And don't get me started on the fact that I haven't had a bath in I don't care to know how long."

He stared at her evenly, then asked, "Are you quite finished?"

"It depends. Did you just use your 'majestic' tone with me?" she asked, her eyes narrowed.

"It tends to come out when someone is spouting crazed nonsense at me," he said.

"Nonsense?" she repeated, her voice rising. "Being behind bars is nonsense? A dragon is nonsense? Thorin, the only nonsense I see at the moment is us. The pair of us courting whilst pretending that this situation isn't dire and that we're not both destined to either a slow decomposition in these cells or a fiery incineration at the mouth of a dragon."

"And that is life, Mistress Baggins," he said fiercely. "It isn't tucked away in a safe, little sanctuary in the Shire. It is facing obstacles and overcoming them to face the next ones. It is having faith in your company and your quest and having the honour to not let them down."

"It's not a matter of honour," Bilbo said rolling her eyes. "It's a matter of –"

"Practicality, yes, your favourite state of mind," he said in disgust.

"Better to be practical than dead," she retorted.

"Better to dare than languish," he fired back.

"Better to languish than rot in a cell," she said.

His hands tightened on her fingers and he leaned forward, his eyes bright in the starlight.

"Better to be beside the ones you love as you fight to the bitter end," he said harshly. "Better to let yourself love with your whole being. Even if the object of your love is an overly cautious, practical hobbit female who would rather curl up and perish. A woman who would rather give up than defend her honour, her pride and her quest. Confound it all, Bilbo Baggins, have you no heart?"

"Of course, I haven't got a heart!" she said just as harshly. "I gave it to you the moment you sang in my parlour!"

He stared at her while she glared back. Then his hand tangled in her hair, she was pulled forward and his mouth covered hers.

It wasn't a very nice kiss.

Now, when Bilbo was a tween she had been given a truly nice kiss from Stanforth Brandybuck (a cousin a few times removed). He was terribly kind and the kiss was gentle, like a butterfly had landed on her lips and then flew off and she remembered that it sent little tingles to the tips of her fingers.

This kiss, on the other hand, sent rather large tingles everywhere.

Thorin's lips moved on hers with a determined and desperate purpose and she reciprocated by parting her lips to move with him. She curled her fingers into his shirt and shuddered as his tongue stroked roughly against hers. She retaliated by sucking on his lower lip surprising them both with the action. But Thorin just groaned and covered her mouth with his once more.

Several really rather charged moments later, they pulled apart. She blinked slowly at him and he looked at her under lowered eyelids.

"Oh," she said in a tiny voice. "Do… Do you think we could try that again? Only perhaps with slightly less devouring and anger?"

His eyes widened as he smiled but then he leaned forward and oh.

Well.

Well, this kiss wasn't precisely nice, either.

This kiss teased and dared and probed. This kiss was lazy and lush and the rather large tingles turned into sensuous vibrations that hummed throughout Bilbo's body.

When they pulled apart once more, Bilbo was sure that the bars had left permanent indentions on her cheeks, but she really couldn't be fussed.

"Mahal," he said breathlessly, "damn-"

"These bars, yes. The Green Lady may damn them to, if she so chooses. And not fair," she said in a daze. "I said no devouring."

"I do not think I can stop myself," he said as his lips hovered just above her own. "For you see, I fervently wish to devour you, my burglar. I wish to lay you out in front of me and taste every last part of you."

"Oh, heavens, you really don't play fair," she said fisting his shirt so hard her nails threatened to tear the fabric. She pressed her mouth to his.

The sounds of the next round of guards talking broke them apart this last time.

"Damn and blast," Bilbo said fiercely. "I must go."

He cradled her face in his hands and kissed her one last time, then pressed his forehead to hers as he said, "You will find a way out for us. Not because you are destined to be my queen or because it is imperative, but because you are clever and strong and I have faith in you. The company has faith in you. Never doubt that. Do not doubt yourself, Bilbo Baggins."

She beamed. "Oh, you are going to make a wonderful king. You are truly gifted at making inspiring speeches."

"Cheeky little burglar," he murmured.

"Stubborn king under the mountain," she murmured back. She dared to press a quick kiss to his nose and then she slipped down the hall, sliding the ring on as she went.

She made it most of the way down the corridor, before her nerves threatened to overtake her and she tucked herself into a little alcove well below the line of sight of the elves. She took the ring off and pressed her hand to her chest and closed her eyes and desperately tried to calm her bubbling emotions. She was downright giddy from his kisses and that wouldn't do. She'd burst into delighted giggles before long and be discovered and where would that lead her?

So she breathed in and out and leaned the side of her face against the wall, letting the stone cool her flushed cheeks.

You are a silly, silly hobbit, she thought to herself, but she grinned while she did so.

"By the Lady, they glare so," a voice came from down the hall and Bilbo froze, giddiness forgotten.

"I'll be glad to forgo this shift in favour of the celebration tomorrow," another voice answered and Bilbo readied the ring to slip onto her finger as two pairs of legs came into view.

"The king is allowing access to his favourite wine, I hear," the first guard said.

"Highly potent, that one," the other guard answered. "I slept for hours after drinking my share last time."

Bilbo watched the legs disappear from view and slipped on the ring. She followed the guards as far as she dared, then darted off to the kitchens. Ignoring her rumbling stomach, she went into the wine cellar where she hadn't dared to enter before. An elf stood at the far side of the room counting bottles. She spotted an open bottle on the table. She worried her lower lip for a moment, made a face, and then snuck over to softly sniff at the top of the bottle.

Her eyes watered at the scent of strong alcohol and she pressed a hand to her mouth as she blinked and shook her head. Potent, indeed. That stuff could peel the paint from the walls.

She studied the room intently, noting various characteristics and a plan began to form in her mind.

As she thought it through, Bilbo became certain that there was a very small chance of success and an even greater chance that the dwarves were absolutely going to hate it.

She nodded to herself and went to find something to eat. She wasn't about to embark on a mad scheme as this on a completely empty stomach.

Later, as she watched the last barrel filled with dwarf tumble down into the frothing wild river below, leaving her quite alone in the cellar, she wished that she hadn't bothered to eat anything as it all threatened to come back up.

But when she felt the floor slowly tip beneath her feet, Bilbo followed her own advice to the dwarves…and took a deep breath.