Elmyra and Dis met the next day to discuss the wedding. 'I want something very simple. Elegant, yes, but not too flashy,' Elmyra said.

'Who is to be invited? Have you sent out invitations? Dis asked.

Thorin and Elmyra had discussed that topic the night before. 'Since the wedding is to be soon, Thorin and I decided not to send any. We will of course invite Dain and Bard, but no one else is close enough to come so quickly. Naturally, anyone who lives here may come.'

Dis frowned. 'You are going to invite everyone? This is a Royal wedding. We should maintain a certain standard for the guests!'

Elmyra hesitated. 'I thought they might be offended if they weren't asked. Thorin is their king.'

'No, they will think it odd if they are invited. Royal weddings are used to make political connections and reinforce alliances not to make friends with the populace.' Dis said snobbishly.

'There are no allies other than Bard or Dain to ask. Thorin would never ask Thranduil and he would not come anyway. It doesn't really matter to me. I would prefer a very small group in any case. I just thought it would have to be everyone.' Elmyra was actually rather pleased to hear that not everyone had to be asked.

'I think we are going to have to delay this whole event, Elmyra. We can't have a wedding with so few guests. If we sent out invitations this week….' She closed her eyes and did some calculations. 'Even if they went by raven, we couldn't have the wedding before September at the earliest.'

'September?! That is when Thorin wants the coronation. I don't want to do both at the same time! It's too much.' Elmyra's dream of a low key wedding was fading fast.

'What a splendid idea! Combine the two! We can ask everyone to come! There hasn't been a Royal dwarf wedding in decades. Now what do we do about your dress?' She eyed Elmyra. Today she was wearing her EverCleanClothes. She preferred them to dresses and she still didn't have enough regular clothing for daily wear. 'What is that you are wearing? It looks very um, utilitarian. The dress I have in mind is one like my grandmother wore. I saw it here years ago. It was heavy brocade, layered with silk and velvet. Each layer had a different pattern sewn over it in gold and gems. It probably weighed over fifty pounds!'

Elmyra listened to these words in growing fear. 'That sounds absolutely…' She had been going to say 'terrible' but Dis stopped her.

'I can hear by your tone of voice that you don't like the idea, but Elmyra, this is Thorin's wedding. He is king. You must raise your standards to his level! People have expectations of Royal behavior and appearance. Just any old thing will not do! We are the direct line of Durin. Nothing but the best is good enough.' She didn't say it, but the implication was that right now, Elmyra was wearing 'any old thing'. 'We must impress the world and the dress is one way to do it.'

Elmyra listened as Dis rattled on and on about what one must do or mustn't do. She was on a roll having forgotten that Elmyra was actually the bride. When she spoke, Dis more or less ignored her. Finally she stood abruptly and said, 'I forgot! I have an appointment.' Without waiting for a reply, Elmyra left the room.

…

Elmyra stormed out of the Royal Chambers and walked quickly down the hall without acknowledging the guards like she usually did. Grorg attached himself to her as per orders. Owl followed behind. The new cat doors had been installed and he loved to tag along behind Elmyra whenever she left.

Before she reached the Great Hall, she suddenly stopped and turned to Grorg. 'I can't face any one right now! Do you know a way I can get some fresh air without facing a crowd to get there? Some place where I can be alone?' The thought of having to talk to anyone right now was repellent.

Grorg looked at her red face and angry eyes. He had never seen her in a mood like this. 'There is a terrace that we can get to. It is one of the few that survived the dragon.' Grorg had explored every inch of Erebor that he could reach within a few hours hike.

'Take me there if it isn't too far.'

Grorg led her back the way they had come to a side passage. 'It is not far at all. It overlies the Front Gate.' In a few minutes they reached a door. Grorg opened it and stood aside as woman and cat went out into the sunshine. The terrace was long and narrow. It hugged the side of the mountain and looked out over the battle plain.

Elmyra walked out into the light and immediately started to feel better. She was used to spending most of her time inside. In Chicago, the bad air days usually outnumbered the good ones. It was a fact of life that many days were spent inside. However, the talk with Dis over the damned wedding had made her long for fresh air. She took a deep breath and felt herself starting to relax. Walking toward the balustrade, she leaned over to look down. Grorg assumed an at rest position beside the door.

A long way down, she could see the flagstones that paved the way to the Front Gate. Dwarves busily came and went, unaware of the watcher far above. Owl jumped up and joined her surveillance. She stroked his back and tried to calm her mind.

She walked further down the terrace. Eventually, it ended abruptly at a wall cut into the side of the mountain. Turning, she began to retrace her steps. A sudden skittering of rock was the only warning. As Elmyra turned to look for the source of the sound, a figure leaped from above and knocked her backward off her feet. A small dwarf with a black beard regained his feet and began to move toward her knife in hand.

Elmyra rolled quickly away and then stood. Backing away to the balustrade, her eyes searched for some sort of weapon. She mentally kicked herself for running out without her dagger. 'Why did you do that? Why did you attack me?' she asked, stalling for time.

'Because I hate you; you ruined everything!' As soon as the dwarf shouted, Elmyra recognized Finla, dressed in trousers with her beard dyed.

It wasn't until Finla yelled that Grorg noticed anything wrong. He had been looking in another direction when she dropped on Elmyra. Pulling his sword, he began to lumber toward the pair, but he was built for endurance not speed.

Elmyra noticed his slow race to her. He wasn't going to make it in time. Finla waved the dagger and began her advance, moving it in small nervous jerks. Owl wandered over on the balustrade and rubbed against his mistress's shoulder. She picked him up, held him close to her chest and moved away from the edge.

'That thing won't save you,' Finla motioned at the cat. 'I will gut you both.'

Grorg was a little over half way to her and gaining speed. Without saying a word, Elmyra flung Owl at Finla's face. Like any good cat, he immediately dug his needle sharp claws into the next firm object he encountered and bit hard into her nose. Finla screamed in pain, wrestled with the frightened animal, wrenched the poor creature off her face and threw him back towards Elmyra. Owl hit the ground running and zoomed off in an angry huff.

Finla staggered back, blood pouring down her face and found herself near the balustrade. Before she could advance again, Grorg arrived and thrust his sword into her belly. He was traveling at his top speed and made no effort to slow down. This was almost his undoing as well as it was Finla's. His speed and weight pushed them hard into the railing. Whether from age or unseen dragon damage, the stone cracked and gave way. Finla fell screaming down the mountain to the flagstones below. Grorg would have followed but for three things: he let go of his sword, he put out a hand and caught the edge of the rail, and Elmyra grabbed onto the tail end of his cloak as it flew past her face.

He teetered on the brink for a breathtaking second before he was able to pull himself back completely. 'That was interesting. I would prefer never to repeat it,' he gasped. Visions of the drop floated before his eyes and his heart thudded in his chest.

Elmyra edged over to the gap and looked down. A crowd was gathering around the body and pointing up. Elmyra felt her pulse begin to return to normal. 'Thank you, Grorg. She would have gotten me if you hadn't been here. A cat is only good for a one-time defense.' She gave him a fierce hug and a kiss. She tried to pick up Owl, but he was having none of it. He hissed at her and skittered under a bench. 'Thank you, too, Owl. I am sorry I had to fling you.'

'I should have been paying more attention, my lady. She should never have gotten that close.' Grorg had let the isolation of the location override his training.

'We had no reason to think anyone could possibly attack me here, Grorg. It seems no place is safe.' The realization that someone had again almost killed her began to take effect. She fell rather than sat onto the bench Owl was hiding under.

Before Grorg could reply, Nori and a troop of guards burst through the door. 'Elmyra, Grorg! Are you alright?'

Elmyra was hugging her knees to her chest and rocking back and forth. She nodded her head but didn't speak. As usual, she had been fine during the crisis, but the rush of emotion afterwards was starting to take over. 'Go find King Thorin and bring him here immediately,' Nori ordered one of the guards. He sat next to Elmyra and patted her shoulder. 'I've sent for Thorin.'

He spent the next few minutes listening to Grorg's account of the event and watching to make sure Elmyra didn't get any worse. Her rocking had slowed and she was listening to Grorg when Thorin arrived. Nori moved to him quickly and gave him a summary. 'She is better now, but I think she was quite upset at first. It was almost like after the goblin cave incident,' Nori told him quietly. When Thorin sat down with Elmyra, Nori motioned for all his guards to move off and give them some privacy.

Thorin took her in his arms. 'It's alright, Little Cat, you are safe now. Finla is dead.'

'I know,' she snuggled into his arms.

'Why did you come up here anyway? How did you know about it?' he asked.

'I needed to get away, and Grorg brought me here when I asked for a private place. It was only bad luck that Finla was nearby. There was no way she could have known we were coming.'

Thorin's eyes narrowed at her words. He knew she had been with Dis earlier. 'What aren't you telling me? Why did you need to get away?' Elmyra refused to look at him. 'Little Cat, does this have something to do with that blasted wedding? Please tell me.'

His quiet voice broke down the dam she had built up around her feelings. 'I don't want to get married, Thorin, not if it has to be this way.' She began to cry.

Thorin was stunned. This was the first he had heard of any trouble with having a wedding. 'What are you saying? What is the matter? Is it Dis?'

Reluctantly Elmyra nodded. She hated to be the cause of trouble between brother and sister. 'She wants me to wear a dress loaded down with gems and gold. She said that anything else isn't good enough for you, that it would shame the line of Durin. I would rather not get married at all,' she repeated.

'You know me better than that, Little Cat. If you don't like the dress, you don't have to wear it. There is nothing you could do that would shame me or my house, and even if you did I wouldn't care. This is supposed to be our day not Dis's. What do you want?'

She sniffled. 'You will think it is silly. It isn't regal or grand at all.'

'What is it?' he coaxed. 'It can't be that bad.'

Elmyra sat up and pulled away from him slightly. 'I can't think of a better way to marry you than to do it with only our closest friends like Meladil, Bard and the members of the Company. Dis wants to invite the world and then some. And she wants us to wait until September.'

'What is so terrible about a private ceremony? We can have a reception later for the others, and I see no need to wait if you would like to marry soon. Nothing would make me happier.' He smiled at her being so upset. 'Is there something else? You said something about a dress. What do you want to wear?' He handed her a handkerchief. 'Wipe your tears and tell me, Little Cat.'

She took the handkerchief and wiped at her eyes. 'Do you remember how Bilbo complained that you made him leave in such a hurry that he left without one?' She smiled a watery smile at the memory.

Thorin laughed. 'Yes, I remember. It was one of the reasons I was glad I had insisted on needing a second burglar! Anyone that concerned about pocket linen would probably be more trouble than he was worth. And that has led to us sitting here and you avoiding telling me what you really want. Now tell me.'

Elmyra looked into his beautiful blue eyes. 'When I picture our wedding, I see you standing beside me in your old blue coat, the one that I love so much. I am next to you in my EverCleanClothes and we are surrounded by the Company. They, at least, are dressed in decent clothes.' She smiled and said, 'Like I said, it's a silly idea.' A few more tears fell down her cheeks.

Thorin pulled her back into his arms and kissed her wet face. 'That sounds like a wonderful, sweet plan. I can see why Dis would hate it. What did she say?'

'I never even told her. I knew she would not tolerate such a goofy scene. I was trying to please her and go along with her plans, but I couldn't take it anymore. I ran out and came up here. She probably thinks I am crazy or something.'

'It doesn't matter what Dis thinks, my love. We will go to her now and explain it all. You can plan the wedding and she can go overboard with the coronation. Would that be alright?' For a dwarf with poor diplomatic skills, he settled this minor kerfuffle rather quickly.

Elmyra nodded. 'That would be fine. As long as the wedding is simple and quiet. We can always duck out of the reception. Newlyweds get away with that kind of thing all the time.' She gave him a deeper kiss than before. 'Everyone would know where we had gone.' She nibbled his lips and ran her tongue over them.

'You are wicked, do you know that? You know what that does to me.' He returned her kiss and picked her up. 'I hope Dis has returned to her own rooms. We are going to need a little privacy.'

"POP"!

….

Later, Thorin met with his sister. 'I know you want a grand wedding, Dis, but Elmyra wants something small and simple.' He went on to tell her the plans they had settled on. 'No fancy dress, no outside guests. We will have it early next week and the long delayed dinner for the mountain will follow as a reception for all.'

Dis stared at him. 'No other royalty? No bejeweled dress? Thorin, that doesn't sound like a royal wedding at all! What would Thror and Thrain have thought?'

'I don't care what they would think. They are long gone. It is too far for guests to come. The ones Elmyra would like to have here just left. She doesn't want to ask them to turn around and come right back. Bilbo is probably only getting home this month, and Gandalf has other matters to attend to. We will make do with Dain and Bard. I have sent a raven to the Iron Hills. If Dain wishes to be here, he can make it. If not, there is the coronation in the fall.' Seeing Dis's disappointment, he added, 'Elmyra says you can help with that. She is more willing to go a bit overboard in the decoration department.'

Dis smiled. 'In that case, I guess I can sacrifice your wedding. After all, I have two sons that I can plan for.'

'Mahal help Fili and Kili', Thorin thought.

…

Nori sent out search parties to scour the mountain around the terrace. It didn't take long to find the campsite Finla had set up. When they reached it, they found Gripp tied up and most unhappy. 'Let me go! That witch said she was going to set me free and then did this! Where is she? I'll kill her.'

Without answering, the guards dragged him back to his cell to wait for Nori. 'Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in,' Nori said. 'How does it feel to be back in your home sweet home?'

'Where is Finla? It is all her fault. She did this to me. I'm not going to be the only one to suffer!' he ranted.

'Don't worry we have plenty of company for you. Your buddy Dorlup and his supporters aren't too far away. As for Finla, you needn't worry about revenge. It has already been tended to.'

These words stopped Gripp in mid rant. 'What did you do to her? And what do you mean you have Dorlup? She didn't tell me anything just dragged me out of my cell and tied me up. Said she would kill me if I yelled.' Gripp would never have left his lukewarm cell for the exposure of the mountainside if he had had any say in the matter.

'I did nothing to her. She made the mistake of trying to kill our queen the same as you. Finla took a big step off of a high terrace. Would you like to do the same thing?' he asked menacingly.

Gripp whined. 'I wasn't going to kill her. I only wanted to scare her. If she hadn't attacked me, I would only have cut her beads off. She has no right to them! Besides the money was too good to pass up.'

'She has as much right to those beads as anyone. I take that back, she has more right to them than most,' Nori defended Elmyra. 'I have asked this before, and I promise it will be the last time. What were your aims and who was involved? Answer now or face the consequences. The King has lost all patience with you malcontents. He is ready to take serious action.' Nori wasn't positive about the last statement, but he believed it to be mostly true.

Knowing that Finla was dead and Dorlup a prisoner loosened Gripp's tongue. 'Alright, alright I'll talk. I'm not taking the fall for something I never did.' Nori listened to him ramble for an hour or more, telling all he knew about the group of malcontents and their goals. 'I wanted the money you understand that. You aren't that different from the likes of me.'

'I may not be that different, but I never took money to harm an innocent bystander or harmed anyone intentionally. You, Gripp, make us all look bad.' Nori might be a thief, but he lived by a certain code. 'Your fate lies with the king. Perhaps he will be merciful in his happiness.'

Patience will be rewarded with the next chapter and the long awaited wedding, I promise!