Yes two updates in a week. I am on a role! Please read and review. I am open to suggestions about how Thorin may approach Sara from here.

Chapter 10

An unexpected pang of guilt hit Thorin as he watched Sara consume the highly potent wine that had strategically been placed in front of her. Hindsight was a wonderful thing, and looking at the dwarrowdam who was lightly swaying from side to side in her seat, this was not his best considered plan of attack. In fact, now he felt like an ass.

He had been silently studying her all night. His face was plastered with indifference yet he had listened to most of the conversations that she held with his sister, Balin and Dwailin. She seemed more reserved than he had remembered (given she had no problem putting him in his place previously) but thought her subdued manner was likely due to the nature of the event and the table she was seated at. Or perhaps the fact that no one had insulted her work like he had. Thorin couldn't help but smile to himself when thinking of how she had reacted hearing his appraisal of her work on their first meeting. Not many people would have the courage to stand up to him, yet a simple dwarrowdam had done so without a second thought.

It was also a relief to him that her hand appeared to be healed.

As he watched her throughout the banquet it was obvious that she was not comfortable being seated at such a prestigious table and seemed to shy away from attention. She was also seemingly uncomfortable in her dress as she periodically would shift her upper body in an attempt to ensure it remained as modest as such a dress would allow. Thorin tried his best to ignore how she looked in the dress and he certainly did not allow his eyes to linger on her chest…. Or at least that is what he was telling himself as he sat at the head of the table throwing back another chalice of wine, eyes looking everywhere but at the female. He eventually conceded that she was not unattractive. Every now and then he knew he had been caught looking in her direction as her eyes would lock onto his and silently question him. However being the master of masks that Thorin was, he acted like Sara was just another guest whom he held no interest in. How far from the truth this was.

Upon sitting down he immediately noticed that she did not wear her locket, THE LOCKET which was behind all his suspicions. Was he mad thinking that she was the mystery dwarrowdam from that night so many moons ago. Truthfully no further clues had emerged from his dreams, and the more moons that passed, the less stock that he put him them.

The initial plan had been to subtly interrogate Sara once the alcohol had taken effect, yet Thorin could not bring himself to do so. He was not sure if it was the way her eyes widened as she realised how drunk she was, the way her hands were clinging to the table to keep herself steady, or the way she still managed to sit with poise despite clearly feeling the alcohols effect. She just seemed so innocent yet there was a strength in her that he couldn't help but admire. Eventually Thorin resigned himself to the fact that his conscience was not allowing him to follow through with this plan. He would need to find another way….

With a subtle gesture of Thorin's head, he caught Balin's attention. Balin leaned towards Thorin waiting for his Kings words.

"Master Balin, I see that our guest seems to have enjoyed our beverages a bit much perhaps"

The pair looked over at Sara who was lightly swaying from side to side in her seat and was starting to look a bit pale.

Thorin cleared his throat before continuing "I wonder if you would be able to see her back to her chambers safely?".

Balin nodded his head "Of course your majesty".

Balin couldn't help but lightly smile to himself. The King was notoriously cold and hard to read, yet he could still see that the King was not completely indifferent to this dwarrowdam as he was so many others.

Balin turned his attention to Sara. "Time to get you back to your quarters Miss". Sara smiled thankfully at Balin as he helped her up and put his arm around her for support (and stopped her from staggering). Sara slurred her words but Balin was pretty certain that she had just thanked him for his kindness.

They slipped out of the banquet unnoticed. It was late in the night and Sara was certainly not the only one to have had too much to drink. Dwarfs were loudly talking, laughing and generally being merry. The musicians were playing and it was certain that the festivities would continue for a few hours yet.

Balin protectively walked Sara back to her quarters. It was clear that she was to drunk to walk unassisted so Balin ended up helping her get onto her bed. Balin made a quick departure. The moment Sara fell on top of her covers, she started to lightly snore.

Balin chucked to himself as he lightly closed her door, thinking that she was going to have one hell of a headache the next morning.

Meanwhile Raegan sat at the entrance of the small cave she had been allocated during her stay. The cave was on the edge of the cave systems and was relatively out of the way.

It had been a few weeks since Reagan had returned to the lands of her kin. In this time she became aware of a disturbing thing. Some of her kin appeared to be over-come by some kind of darkness. It was the kind of darkness that seemed to infect everything about the dragon. The way they talked, moved, and even looked seemed altered in some way. It was almost like they were possessed. There was also an unmistakable feeling that Raegan was being watched. She knew her visit had drawn attention, and was doing her best to keep a low profile while trying to investigate further.

Raegan was frustrated that she had yet to find the darkness's source. She had first noticed a darkness encroaching upon her world with a sickness in some trees, and now a darkness that seemed to be taking dragon by dragon. This was no coincidence however she remained unaware of what or who could possibly hold that kind of darkness and power to have such an effect. Notwithstanding the fact that anyone or thing that held the power of dragon would hold a power that was almost unlimited.

The unaffected dragons did not seem to know what was happening, yet they seemed unwilling to help. One dragon had said that each dragon is free to choose what they become. Sara was unsure about the meaning behind such a statement, but was determined to find out.

Raegan was deeply concerned about what she had found thus far and felt that she needed to contact Sara. She wanted to find out if she had noticed anything strange and possibly warn her.

Raegan closed her eyes, and took a deep breath in, large nostrils flaring and the fires within her chest swirling round and round like a hurricane. She slowly channelled her connection to Sara. However despite Raegan's best efforts she was not able to reach her properly. She got the distinct feeling of complete disorientation and warped vision. It was indeed strange. She could sense that Sara was not in her cottage but from the steadiness of her heartbeat and calmness in her mind Raegan knew that Sara was not in danger. Raegan sighed and decided that she would try to make contact again tomorrow.

Silently in the dark, stood a large dragon who watched Raegan as she had closed her eyes. The dragon's pupils dilated and it muttered to itself in a serpent type voice "Ah Raegan, you sssshall lead ussssssssss to the Drakk Kazhunki..".