We are nearing the end, are you ready for what I have in store for you? I hope I'm posting these quickly enough to make up for my lack of posts for so long. I hope the way the story is going is to your liking!
I have hidden two quotes in this chapter: one from the Pirates of the Carribean, and the other from Game of Thrones. virtual cookies to those of you who can find it!
Also, I was thinking of making a few artworks of Ruby. What do you think? you're welcome to send me anything you have for reference, I would appreciate the kindness. ^^
Thorin sat on his throne, mulling over the discussion at his gates and the battle raging on outside. Footsteps were heard approaching.
"Since when do we forsake our own people?" Dwalin was fuming. He climbed the steps to the throne and stared Thorin down. "Thorin." His tone softened. "They are dying out there."
"There are halls beneath halls in these mountains." Thorin's voice seemed far away. "Places we can fortify. Shore up, make safe, yes!" Dwalin looked incredulously at him. "Yes, that is it. We must move the gold further underground to safety." He stepped away and hurried down the steps.
"Did you not hear me?" Dwalin went after him. "Dain is surrounded. They're being slaughtered, Thorin."
"Many die in war." Thorin blinked, a look of derision on his face. "Life is cheap. But a treasure such as this, cannot be counted in lives lost. It is worth all the blood we can spend."
"Heh." Dwalin had a sad smile on his face. "You sit here in these vast halls, with a crown upon your head, and yet you are lesser now than you have ever been."
"Do not speak to me, as if I was some lowly Dwarf Lord. As if I were still...Thorin...Oakenshield." hsi voice faltered. "I am your King!" he swung a sword haphazardly around.
"You were always my King." Dwalin stepped closer, despite the armed mad Dwarf. "You used to know that once. You cannot see what you have become." He was barely holding back tears.
"Go." Thorin looked at his feet. "Get out..." he looked back up at the other Dwarf, who gasped at seeing the old Thorin gazing at him. "Before I kill you." Dwalin watched as the Sickness took hold of him again, his eyes dulling and darkening. With a last sigh, he turned and left for the library. His King was still in there somewhere, and he was hell-bent in bringing him back. He was prepared to protect the Queen with his life if things went badly, but he had to try.
Opening the door to the library, he startled Ruby as she was gazing with her eyes unfocused at a book in her lap.
"Are you not studying your race, lass?" he asked.
"I was." She closed the book. "I seem unable to concentrate." The bruise on her cheek was an ugly purplish colour, and she had thrown her hair over her left shoulder, so as to hide the bald patch behind her ear.
"My Queen," Dwalin stepped forward and knelt by her, taking her hand. "I beg for your help." Ruby looked quizzically at him. "I have talked to Thorin. His sickness runs deep, but I was able to pull him out for a moment, reminding him of who he was." Ruby sat up straighter. "A battle rages on outside. Our kin is dying, along with Elves and Men. We need to help them. We need to help Thorin."
"Take me to him." Ruby stood and followed Dwalin to the gallery of the Kings. They found Thorin wandering aimlessly on the golden floor. He stumbled and swayed, panic in his eyes. "It's getting to him." Ruby made to step closer, but Dwalin held her elbow, looking pointedly at the floor. Ruby took his hand in hers. "Dwalin. I'm fine. Not all treasure is silver and gold. That, over there," she pointed at Thorin. "is my treasure. Along with all the Company. What kind of Dragon would I be if I could not protect my horde? What kind of a Queen would I be if I could not protect my King?" Dwalin let her go.
"Be careful." He warned. "He's not himself." They snapped their heads to a clattering noise. Thorin had thrown his Crown away, letting it clank and slide on the shiny floor.
"Yes, he is." Ruby breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped onto the Gold. A tingling sensation ran up her leg, but she concentrated on Thorin. One step after another, she slowly approached him, until he turned towards her steps and called out her name hoarsely.
"Ruby...Ruby? Baraz Kunzek!" he tripped and fell on his knees. Ruby sprinted the rest of the way to him and threw herself down, sliding on her knees until she bumped against him. He took her face in his hands, but quickly let her go as she winced. "Ruby! I did this to you?" he stared in horror at her cheek. "I..." he pulled a braid with a bead on its tip from his pocket. "I..."
"I'm fine, Thorin." Ruby took his hand and squeezed it.
"I am so sorry!" his eyes widened in shock. "I hit you, I...I hurt you!" he said, still panicking a bit.
"Thorin, I'm fine, really, I've been through worse and you know it." She hugged his hand to her.
"I did not mean your face." He splayed his hand on her chest. "Miz azyung, how can I redeem myself?"
"Stop it." Ruby took his face in her hands, her thumbs caressing the line where his beard started. "Stop this instant!" she shook him a little. "You were sick, you were not yourself."
"How can you forgive me so easily?" he blinked his pools of ice at her in awe and regret.
"There is nothing to forgive." Ruby rested her forehead against his. "I realize, it must have been a shock to you. And I understand if you don't want me in your home, I really do. Bu—"
"Our home." He interrupted. "Yes, finding out about you being a Dragon was not easy. It still isn't." He held Ruby's hands as they slipped from his face and touched her chin softly to make her look back up at him. "But you are my Queen. My better half. My One." He looked into her tearful eyes and noticed streaks of Gold in the chestnuts he had missed so much. He vowed at that moment that would be the only Gold he would ever covet. "I will not be parted from you. Ever again." He took care not to touch her cheek as he slid his hand to the back of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. He tasted the honeycomb he had missed so much, but also her salty tears. He pulled back. "No, please, Ghivashel, don't cry. Tell me what to do to make you happy." She wiped the tears from her face, careful of her cheek.
"You've been calling me that for a while, what does it mean?" she asked. Thorin smiled at her.
"It means 'treasure of all treasures'." He saw her eyes widen. "From now on, I shall only wish for the molten gold of your eyes, the red garnet of your name, the rosy quartz of your blush, the white alabaster of your skin, the darkest ebony of your hair, the sharp diamond of your mind, and the purest Arkenstone of your soul. You are the only treasure I will ever covet, miz azyung." He kissed her again, this time she responded vigorously. She pulled back breathless.
"You forgot onyx." She smiled shyly. Thorin looked at her in confusion. Ebony hair, he had said it. His eyes widened in wonder as her skin rippled and thousands and thousands little scales appeared on her body. Her clothes singed to dust in a matter of seconds, her chest glowing with what he recognized as Dragonfire. He stared at her, naked, but covered in an armour harder than Mithril, with an inner power he had witnessed all too recently. "Do you still want me?" she asked, fear of rejection laced in her voice.
"You," he tentatively touched her elbow. He noticed her chest's glow dim, so that he was able to touch her without burning himself. "are the most beautiful, powerful, kind being I have ever laid eyes upon. I ask you now in return: Do you still want me? Stubborn, vengeful, sick, violent and shameful?"
"I would not have you otherwise." She smiled, a row of sharp teeth peeking from behind blackened lips. He leaned in for another kiss, but he saw her quickly change back.
"No, don't." He shook his head and ran his hands over the scales on her arm. They weren't rough and dull like Smaug's, but smooth and shiny. His hand slid easily over the warm scales. Hesitantly, she turned back and let him approach her. Her lips were scorching, her teeth nipped and drew droplets of blood from his lips, her long, forked tongue drove him mad as they deepened the kiss. She tasted different. The soft, sweet taste of honey was replaced by a stronger, tangier taste that reminded Thorin of cooked meat and grapefruits. Soon, he couldn't bear the heat any longer and pulled away. "How did you learn to do this?"
"I read it in a book in the library. I'll tell you what I learned from Smaug later." Ruby noticed his reddened lips. She should be more careful. Thorin was sweating, beads running down the side of his face. "Right now, I think we should cool you down." She shed his cloak, but it was still not enough. Instead of sitting on her ankles, like she was until now, she rose to untie Thorin's armour. The King, on the other hand, took the opportunity to hold her petite waist in his hands and assault a breast that had risen to the level of his face. He searched around with his tongue and the tip of his nose for a nipple, but couldn't find one. Her chest was securely locked away inside a plate of armour. He huffed in annoyance and chose to watch her Dragonfire beat in rhythm to her heart. Ruby was becoming frustrated with the ties of his armour, so she simply slashed her nails through the shoulder plates, the rest of the armour falling away noisily.
"So impatient...so powerful..." Thorin drew her closer, burying his face between her breasts, his nose filling with the scent of incense instead of the flowery smell he was used to, her legs parting as he sat her down on his lap. He pressed her core down on the bulge that was forming in his pants.
"Thorin..." Ruby called. But it wasn't quite the tone he wanted to hear. "I can't feel much with these scales..." he paused his ministrations and watched as the hard scales disappeared and soft skin took its place. He studied the shadow between her legs, her muscular abdomen, full breasts, peaked with rosebuds, long, slender, scarred neck and the face he had missed so much during his sickness, marred by his strike. She shuddered under his gaze, and caressed his chest. "You're overdressed, my King."
Thorin aided her in shedding his clothes, many seams ripping in their haste. He laid her on the gold floor and watched as her eyes closed in bliss.
"Ruby?" he asked cautiously.
"I'm fine." She opened her eyes, warm chestnuts still under control, but a hint of gold in them. "Are you?"
"How could I not be? I have my Ghivashel right here with me." He lowered himself to kiss her, leaning on his left arm, his right hand gliding over her skin. As he lowered his fingers into her, starting to pump and stretch her, she shook her head, breaking the kiss.
"No." She said, pulling his wrist away.
"Ghivashel, I don't want to hurt you." He trembled in anticipation, but he was still under control.
"You won't." She caressed his left leg with her own right one, her left leg curling around him to pull him closer. As the tip of his member touched her hot core, he couldn't hold back anymore and slid inside completely. Setting a fast pace, they quenched their thirst for each other, panting, sweating and moving together as One. They did not care who heard or saw them, they were the only ones in the world at that moment. Ruby reached her peak before Thorin, who did not falter once as she spasmed underneath him, her juices seeping out as he still pumped into her. He picked up the pace, to faster, shallower thrusts, his head dropping to rest on her shoulder. "Come on." Ruby clawed at his back, a second orgasm building up. "Ah, yes, my King. We have a war to win, faster, yes! Oh! THORIN!" Thorin released himself inside her, her second orgasm milking him dry. His arms gave out and he fell heavily on top of her.
They lay like that on the cold metal floor, trying to catch their breath. Finally, Thorin rolled off her, pulling her to lie on his chest. Ruby listened to his heartbeat and closed her eyes.
"We need to move." She said.
"I know." Thorin sighed. "I have something to show you." He stood and swiftly dressed himself, turning back to Ruby, still sprawled on the floor. Her hair was splayed around her head like a dark halo, her skin, flushed and shining with sweat, seemed to glow in the golden reflection of the floor. The braziers in the room reflected off her eyes, glowing deep red and gold. She caressed the floor with a sad smile.
"I feel it calling to me..." she whispered. "I could tell you exactly how many coins are in this mountain..." she looked back up to him. "But I would give it all away in a heartbeat, just to be with you, dii lokaal." Thorin sighed in relief and held out his hand to pull her up. covering her in his cloak, he led her through the hallways. He would have Balin divide the gold and pay what he owed. He needed to get rid of this mountain's curse.
"This," he started, opening the door to the armoury and turning right to where his royal armour was kept. "is for you." He motioned to two mannequins, holding shining, albeit dusty armours. "I know your scales are much tougher than any armour in here," he turned to her and took her head in his hand, caressing the bald spot behind her ear, then taking new strands of hair and rebraiding what he had ripped out. Clasping the bead onto it, he looked back into her chestnut-golden eyes. "But a Queen must look her part. I will not let you out of my sight. Not now, not ever. You are mine, and I am yours. Until my dying day." Ruby launched herself up to him and crashed their lips together. Thorin ran his hands over her still naked form under his cloak, and had to force himself to push her away. "Do not tempt me, miz azyung." He made her turn towards the armour and stood behind her, holding her hips. "There will be time for that later. We have a war to win."
Ruby looked at the two sets of armour. They seemed especially made for them. The heavy, bulky, imposing set of the King was shining brightly in the candlelight, silver plates and midnight blue accents complimenting Thorin's form as he donned it with practice. The Queen's armour seemed like the complete opposite. The light armour set was made of a dark and polished metal, almost like a black mirror, engraved with silver Khuzdul words of protection. Ruby pulled on a pair of leather trousers, boots and shirt, and allowed Thorin to help her don the armour. First, a corset like plate was secured around her abdomen, and she was pleased to see it had sheaths for many knives. Then, two sleeves, consisting of mail and plates, so she could move her arms comfortably, were pulled over her arms and fastened with a belt at her back, two spiked plates adorning her shoulders. The breastplate was curved to accommodate her bosom, allowing her to breathe and move easily. They fastened under the shoulderplates and over the corset. Her back was covered with another plate, Mithril mail covering the gaps in her armour. Her thighs were left bare, but her shins were encased in dark metal over her boots. Thorin strapped a matching sword to his belt, handing Ruby a set of knives and a pair of long daggers. She expertly twirled them to know their size, weight and form. Satisfied, she sheathed them.
"One last thing." Thorin opened a smaller chest on the table between the two mannequins, lifting two helmets from it. The lighter, silver one, he held carelessly under his arm. The darker one, he held up for Ruby to see. It was made of the same metal as her armour, but was much more detailed. Intimidating spikes seemed to form a crown of horns around her head, much like her Dragon form, protecting the back and top of her head. He stepped back to look at his warrior Queen. "Beautiful." He whispered. Ruby took his own crown/helmet from under his arm and set it on his head. It framed his forehead in angular raven's wings and set off his ice-blue eyes.
"Ready?" she asked.
"With you? For anything." He kissed her and they made their way to the front gates.
Translations:
ghivashel - treasure of all treasures
miz azyung - my love
dii lokaal - my love