Hugs and smiles to all you wonderful people around the world for your reviews and encouragement. Special thanks for being kind with my poetry. There was much to skewer there, but you all were wonderfully gentle. I couldn't ask for better readers. This chapter sets up what's coming, so be patient!

Chapter 37

The next evening, Kili and Fili walked down a hall talking in hushed voices. From time to time, they looked around to see if anyone was listening in. Dwarves bustled around them as usual, dipping their heads as they passed, all carrying on the last bits of business of the realm. With precise efficiency, Erebor ran on the clock with workers streaming toward the various dining halls to eat before starting their night shifts, and merchants tallying their profits next to accountants taking deposits. The lights had dimmed somewhat to signal the end of the day, and the steady noise of activity lessened in increments. Major business had concluded with all contracts sent to their respective locations and correspondence divvied out to couriers who would leave on runs in the morning. The princes had rushed through their responsibilities as fast as they could while being as thorough as their distracted minds were able. Fili read requests for business agreements and kingdom grievances requiring royal attention and forwarded those worthy to Thorin. Kili inspected the recruit roster of potential warriors and guards and assigned all background checks and references to assistants for his review at the end of the week.

"A long day, brother," Fili said with an audible groan and stretch of his neck. A large group of maids coming their way slowed and sashayed toward them with light giggles and whispers. When they came within range, they bent over with deep curtsies, this time to attract and not distract, giving the princes a good look at their trussed cleavage. They obliged, their spirits rising at the unexpected but most welcome interruption of their unhappy thoughts.

"Ladies," Kili said with a courtly bow, "you honor Erebor with your beauty and grace." "I hope you're not working too hard," Fili said with a twinkle in his eye.

Two turned to each other and gushed, and another volunteered, "Oh, not at all, my prince. We're thrilled to be in such illustrious company." She got a shove out of the way from a short and heavy-set maid who wanted a better look. "I like the dark one," one said in the back in a whisper loud enough for them to hear. Her friends tittered, and several shook their heads. "His eyes could melt my veil." "Did you see that smile? "Mahal! I might swoon." Kili stood straighter and squared his shoulders. "No, the blond one, silly. Golden hair is rare, and with that swagger, he's a dream." Fili grinned. "Ha!" said another, taller maid who made no effort to attract their attention. "Their cousin is much more handsome. Did you see his eyes? His hair? Those dimples? He's gorgeous. And so brave." The maids stopped their chatter, considered her words, then chimed their agreement. The brothers shared a glum look and walked off after another but much less enthusiastic bow.

"Good thing he's not here," Kili said when they were out of earshot. Fili grunted. He might be the heir and a little less outspoken in his opinions as a thoughtful heir must, but he agreed heartily, and his low mutters echoed his brother's more vocal objections. "What is it about him anyway?" Kili asked.

"Well, his entrance was dramatic," Fili said thinking hard, "and his coloring is unusual, and that he's not shown his face since is intriguing."

"So he's better looking than us?" Kili asked. "I don't see it."

"You don't want to," Fili said, "but he'll be off soon enough, and that'll be the end of that. Anyway, we need to get back to uncle. Did you see his face this afternoon?" The day had been a difficult one on all accounts for their beloved uncle, and their protective instincts resurfaced.

"I did," his brother said with a tug of his jerkin. They were headed to the infirmary to see if they could force Frain to give up his sister's whereabouts. Thorin had grown more miserable as the hours passed, although he hid it as well as he could and threw himself into kingdom business that had piled up over the month.

"What's he going to do about the council?" Kili asked. That was the one bright spot for them and the company. At Thorin's request earlier that month, Gloin went through the council's ledgers, both the ones they gave him and the ones he found. He gave Thorin his findings after breakfast, and that was the one and only smile they saw on their uncle's face that day.

"Aye, they had them hidden well enough," Gloin had said at breakfast with his finger against his nose, "but they couldn't get around me." They had gathered around a proper first meal of the day consisting of maple syrup poured over thick slabs of bacon, scrambled eggs with sausage crumbled in, and breads of all varieties. Later came the roast pork, mashed potatoes, greens, and various ales and sweet wines for connoisseurs. Dori couldn't understand why no one wanted to try his own vintage. It had a fruity bouquet, he argued.

"More like vinegar," Bofur said with pucker and smack of his mouth. "Your nose is going if you couldn't take a whiff."

"Anyhow," Gloin said, trying to retake the floor, "you should have seen their faces when I said I had the books—the real books—and showed them the ones they had hidden."

"And who's to thank for that?" Nori asked.

"It didn't hurt that Dwalin barged in on their secret meeting with ax in hand," Balin said.

"At first, I thought this whole marry-uncle-off venture was like a game of chess," Fili said, "and it was even fun for awhile, but now …"

"But now," Kili said, "the queen is gone, and the king looks ready to topple himself over. So what do we do?"

Fili sighed, his mouth a stern line. "We wait and hope for the best, but first, let's see if we can squeeze Frain." Hustling to his room, they knocked on the door and heard a cheery welcome. The last thing they had heard was that Frain wasn't too far from the halls of Mandos, and they were surprised to hear him in good voice.

"Don't loiter about," he said. "Come on in, cousins." He was fully dressed and sitting in a chair with his long legs stretched out in front of him. Plates with specks of meat and crumbs of bread sat on every surface of the room, and foam bubbles popped at the bottoms of glasses. Although still thin, his eyes were bright and his color a healthy pink, and he seemed to fill the space like he hadn't before. All in all, he looked better than when they first met him, and they didn't know what to say.

"Miraculous recovery, I'll bet you're thinking," he said with an amused nod and brilliant smile, and Kili forgot why he came.

"Balin was right about us having stiff competition for the ladies," he said to his brother with a sour look. Frain laughed and wiped away a few crumbs from the sides of his mouth with his thumb and forefinger.

"Don't worry on my account, Kili," he said with an expansive yawn and stretch. "As it happens, I've already found my lady fair, and she and I will be wed after my sister and Thorin get sorted, which will happen soon enough."

"About that," Fili said.

"Who is she?" Kili asked. Fili rolled his eyes and shushed his brother. "Never mind, Kili. We're here for uncle."

"Who is she?" Kili asked again. Fili gripped him harder, but Kili pushed him off. At that moment, Bemma happened to walk in with a slice of brambleberry pie, and Frain wriggled his fingers for the plate with an eager smile, but she pulled it away at the last second. Taking notice of the princes, she curtsied and then stuck her tongue out at Frain.

"Tease!" In response, she crooked her finger into the thick, juicy slice, pulled out a large berry, stuck it between her plump lips, and chewed with her eyes closed. "Mmmmm." Frain reached out as far as he could without getting up and tried to swipe the plate out of her hand. "So good." Sitting back, he watched her smack her lips, and his expression changed from mock annoyance to enraptured. His eyes roamed over her face with a gleam that answered Kili's question.

"Come here you tease before I get up and grab you 'round the waist and sit you on my lap!"

With a grin and another berry dropped on her tongue, she handed him the plate, but he did what he threatened and snatched her up. "Frain! The pie!" He put it on the table without a second look. "What I have is better." They laughed together, and he kissed her on the nose before she got up and smoothed her skirts.

"Bemma?" Fili asked. "You're going to marry Bemma?" Frain's smile dropped and a dangerous look replaced it. "Is something wrong, cousin?"

"Not at all, not at all," Fili said with a hard whack on Kili's shoulder.

"What is it about the maids here is what I'm wondering?" Kili said. "Is that why they're all veiled? You know, I never thought about it, but maybe they're better looking than their mistresses. Maybe we should lift a few veils?"

She smacked him hard on the same shoulder. "Stop doing that," he said with a rub of his arm. "It's beginning to hurt."

"Lift a few what?" she asked with another smack waiting. He dropped his head, and she dropped her hand. "I don't care if you are a prince. I won't have anyone toying with my friends."

"That's my plum," Frain said with a wide smile, and he made to stand.

"No!" Fili and Kili reached for him, and she rushed forward with her arms out. "You're not ready," she said, but he waved her off and stood with the care of an aged dwarf as he got to his feet.

"Now let me put my arm around you, sweetheart," he said with a satisfied grin.

"That was an excuse."

"Guilty as charged," he said. He looked down at her tucked under his arm and gave her a gentle squeeze, "but be honest. You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all," she said with a modest blush.

"If I may bring us back to why we're here," Fili said. Frain smirked and met his unspoken question with his final answer.

"I won't tell you where she is, Fili, and you know better than to ask, although I understand why you are."

"So now what?" Kili asked after the unsatisfying visit with Frain. It was almost annoying how happy he was, but they didn't begrudge him after what he went through.

"I'm glad for them, I am, but that doesn't solve uncle's problem," Kili said. Fili spied Lord Kerba coming down the hallway and knocked Kili's sore shoulder.

"Perhaps he can help."

Lord Kerba watched the princes of Durin hasten toward him, and he held back a grin.

Scamps. Loyal, good-hearted young dwarves, they are, but scamps nonetheless. Praise Mahal for them.

They bowed before him, and he dipped his head. "What can I do for you this evening, young princes?" He paused and held up his hand. "My advice to help Thorin perhaps?"

The brothers turned to each other. "Are we that obvious?" Fili asked, slightly downcast. "I never did do well with diplomacy."

"Not at all, Prince Fili," he said with a deliberate tone of respect. "You and your brother have been well-trained, but your love for Thorin can't be disguised, and, frankly, I'm happy to see it. He has enough clods to deal with around here." No one needed an explanation of whom Kerba meant both in and out of Erebor.

"This all started like a game of chess," Fili said again. "But then," Kili said, "but then it turned into Sow in the Citadel and Maze of Mystery, then Kin in the Corner, then Killer Around the Clock, and now it's Uncle Unravels."

"You forgot Ambassadors of Embezzlement," Fili said out of the side of his mouth.

"I'll tell you what I told Thorin," Kerba said. "Leave her be. If he doesn't let her find her way—if you interfere," and he gave them a stern stare over the top of his spectacles, "she'll never heal the way she must, and Thorin will suffer for it. Let them alone, lads."

"But he's hurting, my lord!" Fili said. "We can't just sit by after all he's …."

Kerba put his hand on his shoulder and gave him a sad smile. "I know, lad, I know. I hate to see it myself, but it won't be long, and we'll have to distract him in the meantime."

Lord Dain hesitated outside Frain's door, worried that his son might think his coming back so soon an affront, but he did so want to mend at least some of breach before he left for the Iron Hills, and his hand rose to knock before he could help himself.

"Come in!" Dain turned the knob, and his son's happy smile dimmed but remained cordial. Bemma stood with a stack of plates in her arms and curtsied as well as she could.

"I've come to see how you are," Dain said with his hand still on the door. "I'll leave if you wish. I don't want to intrude on your privacy."

Frain bit back a smart remark and offered him a seat with studied politeness.

"Not at all … father," he said. "As it happens, I have good news. I'm to be wed to this bewitching creature." He grinned at Bemma, who paled at Dain's instinctive dismay. The Lord of the Iron Hills gaped, and his brow wrinkled while his arms fell to his side. Dropping her eyes to the floor, she bent her head and waited for harsh words of disapproval, but he said nothing. Frain was about to intervene when Dain coughed, thumped his chest with his fist, and rallied with a gentle smile.

"Let me take the plates, my lady," he said. "No, I insist. I've seen what you've done for my son and daughter, and I'm in your debt. He's chosen well."

Frain was surprised by his father's gallantry and watched with wary eyes as she curtsied again and looked to Frain with trepidation. He reassured her with a nod. I won't let him hurt you. She took a cleansing breath, her relief obvious. "Why don't you take some time for yourself, Bemma?" he said with an adoring light in his eyes. "You must be tired, and please let Oin and Nella know we're not to be disturbed." He squeezed her hand, and she turned to Dain.

"I thank you for your good wishes, my lord," she said, buoyed by Frain's protection. "Your approval of us makes up for much in my life." Dain bent his head in respect, knowing too well what she meant.

Is there anyone who hasn't been scarred by what I've done?

"Please sit," Frain said, indicating a carved ebony chair next to his. Dain settled in with a nervous shift of his body and fiddled with his hands. "I thank you for your concern. I'm much better now."

"But you weren't and not for Zozer's dagger."

"No, my lord, that's true." Dain winced at his formality. "You should know before you have any hopes of my accepting my birthright that I'm a bleeder."

"You're a … a what?"

With stumps of candles spluttering out all around him, Thorin kept on working, feverishly answering even the most tedious and inconsequential matter to stave off his growing impatience and pain. Earlier that day, he had paperwork brought to his chambers to keep himself busy for as long as he was able. Fighting off images of Relianna changing her mind and facing him with her face cold and her voice frosty while she listed reasons for breaking their betrothal, he grunted with the exertion of a sword fight and pushed to his feet.

"Enough!" he said with a sweep of his arm, pitching papers off his desk with a force that send them skittering away. Stacks fell with hard thwacks, and parchment floated back and forth before settling in haphazard piles. Not satisfied, he let out a low growl before his searching hands found an old law book underneath a thick stack of apologies from nervous clans. His fingers flipped its cover back and forth before he sent it after its thinner companions. Before long, the floor of his bedroom was littered with sheaves of parchment, but it wasn't enough to relieve his frustration, and he grabbed a book on Elvish contractual terms. Holding it open by the cover, he ripped it in half with a snarl. With his feet crunching on parchment, he strode over to a table, picked up a tankard, and poured a generous amount of whiskey from a half-empty flagon. He stopped to eye the amber liquid before carelessly dropping the flagon to rock on the table. He caught it before it tipped over.

"This needs refilling," he said with a sneer. Flinging himself into an overstuffed chair, he sunk until his back was partway on the seat. The whiskey burned his throat as he tossed it back, and he shook his head at the strength of it. He waited only a moment before throwing back the rest, and shards of ceramic sprayed the hearth from the force of his throw. All was silent except the sound of his labored breathing and occasional kick of his boots on sliding pieces of crinkled parchment. He watched the fire lick a letter that had fallen into the flames, then dropped his head in his hands. The heat of the whiskey only sharpened his pain, and there was no where he could go and nothing he could do to relieve it.

"I'm a fool to take this so hard. Yet …." Yet their bond wasn't permanent. She had made no irrevocable vow binding them together. Part of him wished that he'd made love to her after all and put a babe in her belly. She'd never leave him then.

"Ah! No! I won't think it," and he shook his head to clear his mind of such dishonorable thoughts. "Nothing is wrong. Her doubts and fears aren't with me. She will come back. She will come back to me." Pushing away his gloomy thoughts, he stood and went to get her note that lay next to his bed. Already, the ink was smudged from his fingers pressing on the letters like he was trying to force an end by erasing her decision.

All My Love to My Black Lion.

"She loves me. She will be my wife. I must look forward to our future. I will."

With a loud groan, he despised his natural pessimism that led him to think the worst. For so much of his life, that was all there was, and he had still to accept the permanence of Erebor and his place within it. Niggling doubts plagued him in quiet moments, but when those moments came, he'd walk the halls and remind himself of his success. Security would come, he was sure, but his triumph at his return to the Lonely Mountain was tempered by how quickly it had slipped away in the first place.

It was a matter of minutes then.

Weary but not tired, he contemplated his bed and undressed with the slowness of one dreading his dreams. Last night was a gift, but he was sure it wouldn't repeat itself. For a moment in his dreams, he had even thought he heard his name whispered husky and sweet.

Why didn't she come to me?

Hang on Thorin fans! Relief is coming, and Dain will get to explain himself! In the meantime, please review!