Upon entering the dining hall they seemed to be the last to arrive and all gazes drifted to them. Dís could see the look on Thorin's face; his eyes sparkled as he got up and approached Mona. He captured her lips in a soft kiss and led her to the free chair next to him.

Bilbo lowered down between Bofur and Dwalin. Mona could see that Barbas was sitting next to Bombur and it seemed they had much fun together.

Thorin's gaze drifted along the table until he said, "Before we start I have to announce something. First of all, I am glad that we are able to sit together at this table tonight. It was a pleasure to travel with you and that we managed to survive all the dangers we've been through. I'm proud of each and every one of you, my friends," his gaze rested on Bilbo for a second before he looked at Mona and continued, "I know I was not friendly to you when we first met."

The Company chuckled and he watched them curiously until Kili said, "Not friendly is quite an understatement," but his mother silenced him.

Thorin led his gaze back to Mona and continued, "I'm thankful that you crossed our way—my way. That you rescued our life more than once. And, Bilbo, I'm sorry for saying this," he looked at the hobbit who seemed to be a bit confused until Thorin added with a smile, "But she was the better burglar. She managed to steal my heart. And I'm proud of you. I'm proud that you stayed with me despite my—my stubbornness sometimes. And I'm proud that you killed Smaug. I love you, Mona. I love you and I love our child."

Mona smiled brightly at him but her breath catched and her heart leaped as he suddenly took her hand in his and said, "I think it is time to ask you officially now. Mona—will you marry me?"

She smiled even more, got up and kissed him. Between her kisses she replied, "I do! I do!"

The Company cheered loudly and finally Thorin took his seat as well. The feast started and never had they been merrier than on this evening.

Thorin could see that Mona was deep in thoughts. He leaned in closer and whispered, "What bothers you?"

She looked at him and replied, "I—I just had a strange feeling earlier."

That concerned him a lot as he asked, "The baby? Is something wrong with the baby?"

"No, the baby's fine," she said with a smile and could see relief washing over him. "Let's not talk about it now," she added and he nodded in understanding.


Two weeks passed by and finally the wedding day had come. Mona was more than surprised as she saw all the guests. She saw men and women from Laketown and was happy as she heard that no one had been killed by Smaug.

A lot more dwarves from Ered Luin had arrived as well as dwarves from the Iron Hills. Much to her surprise she saw some elves from Rivendell. She could see Lord Elrond with his daughter Arwen. She met Arwen during their stay in Rivendell. She liked her but they had not much time to tighten their friendship back then so Mona was happy to see that she came.

Finally her gaze drifted to a huge and hairy man in the back of the assembly hall. A confused but merry smile turned on her face. She stepped towards him, "Master Beorn?"

He turned to look at her and returned that smile. "Lady Oakenshield, it's a pleasure to see you again."

"I'm really surprised to see you here," she said which caused him to laugh.

"Well, I heard about your wedding and a little birdie told me that you are going to be a mother. Let me guess, it's nearly your third month?"

She nodded slowly and he added, "Remember where you have been around that time?"

Suddenly she thought back to that evening in Beorn's little cabin. That must have been the day her child was conceived. She looked up at him again and he winked with a cheeky grin on his bearded face.

"I'm really happy to see you," she said once again as her name was called somewhere behind her. She turned around and saw Dís approaching her.

"Mona, we have to prepare you now," she said with a broad smile. Mona took a deep breath and followed Dís into her room just to find Arwen in there as well.

"I haven't congratulated you, yet," the beautiful she-elf said and added, "I'm certain you will have a wonderful child."

Mona smiled and saw Dís stepping towards her with a beautiful dress in her hand. The dwarf woman and the she-elf began to prepare Mona and once they finished they stepped away from her.

"How do I look like?" she asked a bit nervously.

"Wonderful," Arwen breathed and Dís added, "Thorin will be speechless."

Arwen reached into a pocket and revealed a silver shining tiara. "This is for you. A gift from my folk. My mother wore it on her wedding day."

"Arwen, I can't take this," Mona said but Arwen silenced her and added, "It is a gift to set a sign of peace between the humans, the dwarves and the elves. We are all reunited in peace today."

Mona smiled, though still a little uncertain, but Arwen placed the tiara on her head and said, "You look stunningly beautiful."


Thorin strode nervously through the assembly hall which was decorated with lots of candles, torches and flowers as well as shiny diamonds hanging on the walls. A lot of tables filled with food and drinks were set.

Dwalin walked by his side. "Are you nervous?"

Thorin looked at him and nodded. "And I've never imagined that all those guests would come."

"You have no problem that the elves are here?"

"No, to be honest we owe them a lot. At least those of Rivendell. Especially Lord Elrond. Without his healing, Mona could be dead."

Dwalin nodded understandingly and was glad that Thorin put down his hate for the elves. Not the wood-elves from Mirkwood, of course.

"Uncle! You look great!" Fili called as he approached them.

"Thank you, Fili," Thorin said and cast a glance around. "Where's your brother?"

"Oh, he's right there talking to Eolyn. You remember? The girl from Laketown."

They cast a glance towards Kili and the young girl who were flirting and laughing.
"I'm glad that he found someone," Thorin said and Fili nodded. His uncle added, "And I'm certain you'll find a girl soon as well."

Balin approached them and placed his hands on Thorin's shoulders. "By Durins beard! You will marry today!"

Thorin felt his heart leap and replied, "And I'm glad that you will marry me off to her," and with a smile he pulled his friend into a tight embrace.

"And may I say that your attire looks very fine," Balin said. Thorin wore a dark-blue tunic with silver applications, a silver belt around his waist with the sign of Durin carved into the buckle, dark trousers and a black gown with black fur on the shoulder part.

The guests were already gathered at the tables. Balin stood in the front of the hall together with Thorin while Dwalin stood behind his best friend as his groomsman. Kili and Fili were sitting at the front table. Suddenly the door opened and all guests turned around to see Dís entering the hall, followed by Arwen. As they parted all eyes were fixed on Mona. Thorin's mouth opened and closed, completely awestruck.

Mona wore a white dress which fit tightly around her upper body and fell gracefully around her waist. He was aware that her belly had grown a bit more, though not very much but to him she was the most beautiful woman that ever set foot on the surface of all the worlds.
Around her waist was a silver belt designed with little cream-colored pearls. Her long blonde hair was waving over her shoulders and a silver tiara was placed on top of her head.

Arwen took her seat next to her father while Dís led Mona to the front and finally the couple was standing side by side.
Dís stood behind Mona as her marriage witness. Mona looked at Thorin and he smiled tenderly at her with so much love in his eyes that she could do nothing else than smile back at him. He took her hand in his and Balin cleared his throat and began,

"Today is a special day," he looked at the couple and continued, "Today we are celebrating the wedding of our King Thorin and his wonderful wife Mona."

He smiled at them as he said, "I am proud to say that these two souls had found each other in times of darkness and it was an honor to fight side by side with them and watch their love grow with each day."

Thorin's gaze drifted to her again and Balin continued, "Dwarf marriages are not filled with much speech but before we start, let me allow Thorin and Mona to make their own vows."

Mona turned to face Thorin and began, "Thorin—I love you and I know you love me. I am confident that fate had chosen you to be my husband. I came from another world and stumbled upon you. We had a hard start but deep inside I always knew you are special. We managed so much together, we've been through hard times and good times and now we stay here. And I am thankful for every second I can spend with you."

She stopped and could feel tears start dwelling in her eyes and much to her relief she saw that even he had to control himself. He smiled at her and Kili whispered, "Amazing."

"Now, Thorin, it is your turn," Balin said with a smile.

Thorin took a deep breath as he started, "I suppose we all know that I am not that good with long speeches but—Mona, I love you so, so much and I know I gave us a hard start but I am thankful that you decided to stay by my side nevertheless. You saved my life and the life of my Company and—," he stopped, uncertain to find the right words. Suddenly his eyes shone brighter than before and said,

"Mona, you are a woman with a thousand facets. You shine like silver in the firelight, like water in the sun, like snow under the stars, like rain upon the moon! You are my love and my life—both of you," and with that he placed his hand on her belly.
They could hear the women in the hall sigh with pleasure. She smiled at him and a tear rolled down her cheek.

Balin was quite speechless for a moment but finally found his words again as he said, "Now, I'm askig you, Thorin Oakenshield, will you take Mona as your wife and protect her in good and bad times?"

"I do."

Balin nodded and turned to look at Mona. "And will you, Mona Stormblade, take Thorin as your husband and stand by his side in good and bad times?"

She smiled and her gaze drifted to Thorin. "I do."

Balin placed his hand on their entangled hands and said, "I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Dwalin stepped forward and the two of them exchanged their rings. The bald dwarf said, "May your days be long and joyful."

"May Durin protect you," Dís added merrily.

Thorin nodded at them, turned to look at Mona and pulled her into a loving kiss. She responded to his kiss with a tear rolling down her cheek. This was the happiest day in their life so far.

The cheers and clapping of the guests echoed through the hall. The first to approach and congratulate them was the Company.
Dís embraced her brother and whispered, "I'm so proud of you."

He smiled at her, and then she pulled Mona into an embrace and whispered, "I'm so delighted for the two of you—or should I say three?" They laughed and Mona thanked her.

Lord Elrond approached them and took Mona's hands in his as he said, "I wish you all the best, Lady Oakenshield."

"Thank you, Lord Elrond," she replied with a smile. The elf Lord turned to face Thorin and said,

"Thorin Oakenshield, I am glad to see that elves and dwarves can come together in peace again. May this peaceful bonding last for a long time."

Thorin nodded and replied, "We owe you much and I am certain we will live in peace from this day on."

Arwen stepped next to Mona and said, "You see? It was a wonderful wedding. And I have to confess even I shed tears upon hearing his vow. That dwarf loves you with every fibre of his body and soul."


Later in the evening the guests were gathered around the tables to eat and drink and have a lot of fun. Mona approached Lord Elrond and lowered down next to him.

"Lord Elrond, I have a question."

"What's the matter, my dear?"

She sighed. "Do you know what happened to Gandalf?"

He seemed to be surprised. "He is fine, if that relieves you," he replied but Mona sensed that there was more.

"He said we would meet again before the end of our quest is near, but he never returned. And he is not here today.I'm certain he knows about the wedding. What is he doing? What kind of business is it that he had to care about in the south?"

Elrond shifted a bit. "I cannot tell you about the businesses of the wizard. But you can believe me when I say that everything will be alright. He will return to you sooner or later. He has to."

She was not quite satisfied about his answers but at least it relieved her to hear that Gandalf was still alive.


Thorin approached her while she stood with Arwen in the back of the hall. The she-elf excused herself as she saw Thorin approaching.

He placed his arms around Mona's waist and gently stroked her belly. He kissed her neck and whispered, "You look so beautiful."

She turned around and could see how much he admired her. He grinned as he added, "Is it impolite to say that I love your grown belly?"

Mona chuckled and placed her hand on his cheek. "It's the most wonderful thing you could say," and captured his lips in a kiss before they slowly began to move to the rhythm of the music.
The elves had started to sing and the dwarves played some merry songs.

The newly-wed couple forgot everything around them. Only the two of them existed in that very moment. He looked into her eyes. "I love you," he whispered before he kissed her softly.

"And I love you," she replied while her emerald eyes sank into his sapphires and kissed him once more.

The festival lasted until deep of the night. Finally the guests cheered one more time and released the freshly married couple into their wedding night.


Mona and Thorin entered the royal bedroom and closed the door. Silence fell upon them and they simply stared at each other, enjoying that moment until he pulled her closer.

"We're married now. I still can't really believe it," she said and kissed him.

"I'm so happy," he replied once they broke the kiss. She smiled at him and he tucked her hair behind her ear and began to place kisses on the side of her neck. A shiver ran down her spine and goose bumps covered her skin. He pulled away from her and said,

"As you entered the hall earlier today—I was stunned by your beauty once more. Whenever I look at you I fall in love with you again. Every day, every minute, every second."

That left her speechless and so he took the tiara out of her hair and placed it carefully on the desk. She placed her hand on his bearded cheek and kissed him deeply.

He pulled her closer again and could feel her body pressing against his in need. He intensified the kiss and Mona opened her mouth. Their tongues started a lovely dance while she wrapped her arms around his neck and simply enjoyed that feeling.

His hand trailed down along her back and rested on her backside. They kissed more passionately. Slowly his hand trailed up again and began to open the belt around her waist. It dropped soundlessly to the ground while he nibbled at her earlobe.
She felt his hot breath on her skin, soft kisses that were breathed on her neck and finally his lips found hers again.

He could feel her hands began to unbuckle his belt as well and he smiled at her. She pulled his tunic off and tossed it aside. Her hands trailed over his chest while her lips placed soft kisses on his skin. He closed his eyes and moaned in pleasure.

He opened the lashes of her dress and it slid silently to the ground as well. He had seen her body multiple times before but in this very moment she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

She looked into his eyes while he pulled her even closer. Finally he lifted her up so she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her to their bed and placed her carefully down. He pulled his trouser and boots off and lowered down on all fourth over her. His lips started to kiss a trail down her body, nibbling at her breasts, kissing her grown belly.

Her breath catched, for that was the most arousing moment. He kissed back up to her lips while his hand stroked the inner side of her thighs. She moved under him, pressed against him. She could not hold it back any longer.

"Thorin, please—,"

He looked down at her and kissed her while he gently entered her. She moaned in pleasure and he began to thrust carefully. He was uncertain if that was good or bad for the baby and Mona could see it in his eyes. She cupped his cheeks and whispered, "It's fine."

He smiled and kissed her again. Now he was encouraged not to worry too much and finally they found a common rhythm. It was a very intensive feeling for them both because this was the first time they made love as husband and wife.

After a while both climaxed heavily and nearly in unison. He broke down on top of her but rolled immediately onto his back. He was too afraid that he might harm the baby with his weight. He pulled her closer and Mona placed her head on his chest. He placed a kiss on her forehead and gently stroked her long mane.

A couple of moments later they were both deeply asleep.