Hello everybody,
Sorry this chapter took so long I will explain why in the Author's Notes. For now enjoy.
Dwarven feasts were meant to be cheerful events with laughter and boisterous songs, but instead Asher found himself at a very sad event. The dwarves were not at all cheerful or boisterous, and what was worse was at these events usually the dwarves would get into drinking contests and always you ended up stumbling away or passing out. Instead the ranger found himself sober and the dwarves gone. It was a slap to the face, a bucket of ice cold water; yes he had seen that Veirra was highly valued and even loved by the company. But this? To see a group of dwarves walk away barely touching their food or drink even the obese one Bombur left.
The older ranger watched the last members go and considered what had happened. Would Veirra really just disappear on them? What if she left? Would he see her again? For a time Asher sat thinking and sipping his wine. He was weighting his options when he left Erebor not at all drunk. Making his way back to Dale he decided to see Veirra himself, perhaps he could convince her. If she was afraid of being kept hostage he could simply go with her.
However on arriving at the building where she was resting and recovering he entered her room to find her packing. It was a good thing he did not go straight to bed where he stayed otherwise he would have missed her entirely. "Planning to leave without saying goodbye? That is just rude you know."
Veirra looked back at Asher with a sigh. "I have to go Asher. He will not stop. He will not leave me be."
"So why not visit him and tell him to back off?" Asher asked opting for neutral territory. If he went this route it was less likely that she would tell him off.
"Because he is a stubborn dwarf who only hears what he wants to hear." Veirra stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Asher nodded agreeing.
"He does seem to be hard of hearing." Asher admitted, but did not mention that Veirra seemed to be too. "Look I know you want to go, and frankly I do not care about the dwarves case or anything. However I am worried for you: Are you sure? I mean you are still recovering and I do not want you to be wandering the wilds injured."
Veirra smiled at the older ranger. "Thank you Asher, for not mentioning him. Everybody else is pleading his case and—you and Bilbo are the only ones that are not nagging me to go see him."
"Oh no! I do not do nagging, no way. Teasing and joking yes nagging and whining no." Asher said getting Veirra to laugh.
"I will be fine Asher. I am going to be travelling with Master Baggins and we will head for Rivendell and visit Atrice." Veirra said reassuringly then turned away to resume packing. Asher watched her, then made a snap decision that he prayed would not cost him his friendship in the future. He looked to his right where some cups and a small bottle of wine sat. Going to it he poured a couple of drinks then reached into his coat where he kept some herbs for healing reasons one of which was a knock out agent. He poured the agent into her cup then put the pouch away.
"Well then a drink for the road." Asher announced as he picked up the cups and Veirra looked back at him. Straightening she accepted the cup he gave her with a smile. "To a safe journey."
"To a safe journey." Veirra repeated, they clinked their cups together and they both drank. Once they finished their drinks Veirra looked down into her cup with a frown. "That is strange I do not recall the wine tasting off-"
Her sentence broke as she was knocked out by the potent herb and Asher easily caught her. "I am sorry Veirra." Lifting her into his arms he sighed. "I hope you thank me for this later."
For longer then he had liked he had been patient and tried hard not to act impulsive as Gandalf had said. It was driving him more mad than the Arkenstone ever could have, and he was on the edge of his tether. Dwarves were not known for patience much less sitting back and doing nothing about a problem, so true it was for Thorin. Even now he laid in bed staring at the ceiling until finally it had become too much and he threw the covers roughly off. Sitting up he was still dressed in a deep blue tunic and black trousers. He did not undress much as he had not while travelling and so the habits he picked up remained. Slipping on his boots he called one of the servants still awake and told them to summon the company to the great hall. He would undoubtedly need help, but was not about to tell Gandalf his plans as the wizard would not approve. Getting dressed he looked at himself in the mirror for a moment, then he heard a knock and came to see Dwalin at the door. The dwarf smiled at Thorin dressed as well. Obviously the servant had not disturb his friend's sleep.
"A servant came and got me." Dwalin said and Thorin nodded, quietly they headed for the great hall. However what they heard next made them slow down in the walk. They had just left the flight of stairs and headed left to the double doors leading into the great hall. The lanterns were still lit and voices were heard within.
"You should not have done this!" Gandalf's voice boomed, and Thorin looked to Dwalin confused. He had not summoned Gandalf, and who was the wizard talking to.
"What did you expect me to do?!" The voice was that of Veirra's ranger friend Asher, "She was leaving! Your urging for patience nearly cost ya!"
Both dwarves looked at one another then entered. Some of the company was already there watching the situation between ranger and wizard. Bilbo stood off to the side glaring at Asher and looking like he did not want to be here. As the pair came closer Thorin called out seeing something in the ranger's arms. "What goes on here?!"
Both turned to Thorin, and as he neared he realised Asher held an unconscious Veirra in his arms. The dwarf lord stared at her as she slept in her friend's arms, he moved closer slowly, then looked between the two expecting answers as to what was going on.
"Right well according to the wizard here I did something stupid." Asher grumbled.
"Do you think she will approve of you knocking her out and bringing her here?!" Gandalf asked annoyed.
"It was better than letting her leave!" Asher argued.
"Excuse me but we were leaving! I would have been with her!" Bilbo argued.
"You knocked her out?!" Thorin asked concerned and checked to see if she had received a blow to the head.
"Relax it was a little something added to her wine." Asher grumbled, then sighed. "She was going to leave tonight. Do not believe me? Read this."
Thorin looked to the note in Asher's hand, and Balin came up taking the note. He looked it over as he saw in delicate script: 'To the Company of Thorin Oakenshield.' Thorin watched Balin as the older dwarf opened the envelope and took out the note, then noticed something else inside and dumped the contents into his large hand. The Mithril chain Thorin gave her. Balin handed it to Thorin, then looking to the rest of the company he opened the note and read it aloud.
"To my good friends of the Company of Thorin Oakenshield, I did not really want to part from any of you this way. I had wanted to see each of you one last time before returning to where I belong, and no here is not where I belong. Perhaps I did once, but not any more. I know many of you will be upset with my choice, I am not giving Thorin the chance you feel he deserves nor am I saying goodbye properly. But let's be honest Thorin is as stubborn as a mule and would probably not listen to a word I say. I would not go to Erebor and try to say goodbye because I might not be allowed to leave." Balin paused for breath as he looked to his company, then read on.
"It is not easy as you think for me to simply disappear from your lives, you all have been far more accepting of me. Some of you have called me your queen, others Aunt, and all of you have called me friend even if the word was never uttered. In fact it is very hard to walk away because I have grown fond of each of you. All I can ask is that you try to understand, I cannot be what you want me to be. During our journey here after Goblin town I fought my attraction to your king tooth and nail knowing it could only lead to disaster. I knew I would be hurt in the end somehow, and hated myself even more when I did give in only to be hurt in the end. I had been hurt before and thought the lesson would have been learnt, only to stab myself in foot as it were. I guess there is not much else to say on the matter other than the fault is mine, and I will have to find a way to live with it. However that does not mean I will risk my heart for a third time."
Balin peeked at the others then cleared his throat. "I know it is cowardly and to many laughable, but I am afraid of being hurt again. Each night I close my eyes and am reminded of the incident at the gate. To me it felt like there was the Thorin we knew, and a stranger taking his place. Now I ask myself which is it? I saw Thorin briefly fighting Azog, but is it him now? Or a stranger? Either way I will not risk my heart a third time, so in short this is my goodbye. I am glad I got to share in this amazing adventure and meet you all. I will miss you deeply and think of you often in my travels. I ask that none of you look for me, you are home now. My only other request is that you return the mythril chain to your king. I signed no contract and have no need or claim to any of the treasure. With regret I say goodbye, Veirra Stormshadow."
Balin stared at the note while the other dwarves sunk into chairs and looked like they were shocked. For a moment they forgot the ranger was unconscious in Asher's arms. Only Thorin watched her closely equally hurt by her choice, then he looked up at Asher. "Why would you do this?"
"Because my friend is stubborn, and I have been watching and seeing how much she means to you. The feast tonight none of you wanted to celebrate, and the only time your company laughed was when they were reminiscing about her. Pulls on the heart strings ya know, then I head back and find Veirra about to leave and she does not even know how much she is missed. How her just disappearing would hurt, so that is why I did it. Because she could be happy, she does not need to return to the wilds, and I really want her happy especially after all she suffered. After Atrice she is the only family I have left worth anything, and I worry that if she walks away she will regret it." Asher said with a small shrug, and Thorin came closer. "Ah there is just one more thing. If you hurt her again I will cut off what is between your legs."
While Thorin did not take well to being threatened, he understood why Asher said it and smiled at the ranger. "Of course."
The first thing Veirra felt was the warm soft bed and moaned at how comfortable she was. She stretched and moaned again at the feeling of the sheets and blankets gave. It felt like a bed meant for royalty as did the loose and baggy night shirt she was in. For a moment she just laid there thankful for a dreamless sleep, but wasn't she suppose to be on the road now? The last thing she remembered was packing and having a drink with Asher then—nothing. The blank spot caused her to panic a little, but not nearly as much as when she opened her eyes. The large cavernous chamber she found herself in was something straight from her nightmares. She stiffened as she looked around her. She lay in a large bed with pillows and an sheer canopy curtain, it sat a few steps higher than that rest of the floor. To her right was a door open leading into a large bath pool room and toward the foot of the bed sat a large fire place with a fire going, past it in the corner was a large oak desk. Straight at the foot of the bed was two large double doors leading onto a balcony with soft curtains To the left at the foot of the bed was a large wardrobe, another large door, and in the corner towards the top of the bed was a changing curtain.
The furniture was obviously of dwarvish make which did not help the panic Veirra felt as she sat up and looked down at the sleep shirt she wore. It was obviously meant for a woman twice her size, but was well made. The large shirt slipped off one of her shoulders, but also clung to her figure nicely. Looking around she saw no sign of her clothes though which did not help as she quickly scooted to the edge of the bed and got up. Going down the two steps she moved to the balcony and opened them. The cool air woke her up fully as she gripped the stone balcony and looked around her. She was high up in Erebor and shivered as she realised that she was in the last place she wanted to be. Going back inside she closed the door doubles and closed her eyes to calm her breathing. 'This cannot be happening! I am dreaming, it is another nightmare.'
However past the bed next to the bath pools lay another door which silently opened and in came Thorin from his personal chambers. He stopped short when he saw Veirra leaning against the balcony doors eyes closed. "This is another nightmare, I will wake soon. Maybe Bilbo and I stopped on the road and I dosed off..." Veirra said aloud hoping to disrupt the dream. However when she opened her eyes she was still there. She had not spotted the dwarf lord yet and so she headed for the door to her right that was closed.
It was then Thorin stepped closer past the sheer canopy curtain and spoke up. "Hello Veirra."
An audible gasp came from the ranger as she froze, then began to turn back to the dwarf lord. Looking back Verra swallowed hard determined not to show how frightened she was. She looked over Thorin and felt her heart skip beats. For a moment she was quiet as she tried to work through what to say or do. Finally she opted for angry it was easy to mask fear when you showed anger as she folded her arms in front of her and tried to look annoyed. "Well this is new. What did you say to Asher to get him on your side?"
Thorin felt his own anger surface as he clenched his fists. "That is all you have to say to me?! For weeks I have lain in a bed wanting to see you. Every waking moment thinking about you, every sleeping moment dreaming about you! Calling your name wondering when I would see you! Do you have any idea what it is like to wait and hope someone returns to you?!"
"Yes Thorin, yes I do!" Veirra said sharply, "I begged him to come back to me on the battlements and he never came!" The sharp words made Thorin suck in a breath, but perhaps he needed her to yell at him. "I tried everything to bring you back! To keep you as we knew you! But every time I turned around you were a stranger! Did you even know one night we were together the next morning I woke crying ashamed because it felt like a stranger had touched me instead of you?!"
Veirra looked visibly shaken at the memory as she put a hand over her mouth to contain any sobs. At the time she had deluded herself into thinking it was because of her requests, but when recovering in a bed and looking back on the memories that led up to now, those memories were thrown into a much harsher light. Thorin looked a bit shocked by her confession as he wanted to pull her into a hug, but knew she would not want that. He knew his actions were a far cry from good and remembered doing a number of things that he deeply regretted. "I—I am sorry I did not-"
"Where am I?" Veirra interrupted.
"The queen's chambers." Thorin said knowing she would not like that, and he heard her humourless laugh. He needed to regain control of the situation as it was he was losing his chance quickly. "Please hear me out Veirra."
Veirra tried to keep calm down. The last thing she wanted to do was panic as it was her façade of anger was slipping. Instead she stiffly nodded determined not to be effected by his words as she tried to guard her heart from him. "Not like I have a choice." She gestured around the chamber.
"The moment I woke after Ravenhill I have been trying to make amends for all I did. I paid the people of Lake-town double the gold owed. I gave that wretched elf king his gems, and did as I agreed I would. Tauriel is now welcomed and lives here, and Sigrid visits regularly with her father. In time they may well become princesses of Erebor. I sought everyone's forgiveness and eventually received it. But what I want most is to earn back what we once had, what I fear may be lost..."
Veirra hugged herself tighter afraid of losing herself all over again. The entire time she avoided eye contact with him. His piercing blue eyes had this ability to melt her insides after their night together in Lake-town. Shaking her head she swallowed hard. "It does not work that way Thorin! I am not some jewel to be reclaimed!"
Turning away she headed for the door hoping to get away from him. However in the next moment she was pinned to the door rather than leaving through it. She tried to squirm loose but then Thorin pressed against her letting her feel his warm body. Her wrists pinned on either side of her head and his face inches from hers. She shrank back from the glare in his piercing blue eyes. "No you are not a gem, but you are more precious to me than any gems in Erebor."
"Except for the Arkenstone! Apparently I cannot compete with the king's jewel for a place in your heart." Veirra said fiercely.
"Gandalf has destroyed that jewel as I asked." Thorin said smiling at her as her eyes widened in disbelief. "As for my heart.." He let the sentence hang as he leaned in. Immediately the ranger panicked squirming more against Thorin. It was an irrational fear she harboured of who she would be kissing. Thorin Oakenshield? Or the stranger from before? Either way Thorin had no problem holding her in place.
"No Thorin-" Veirra started to plead then found his lips pressed down on hers. She tried to keep her lips firmly closed, but Thorin was fiercely persistent. His body pressed hard to hers making her moan. He kissed her deeper and more passionately until she whimpered softly and shivered against him. The fear of which one was kissing her died out as it was definitely Thorin that was kissing her. Now a new fear entered her heart, how long before she lost Thorin to the stranger he had been? Again it felt like her heart was in danger of being broken as she squeezed her eyes shut.
However her attempts to keep herself guarded and resist this were shattered. Her body refused to obey her and be still as she trembled against him. Another moan escaped as she finally gave into the kiss, and it told Thorin all he needed to know. Being apart from her for so long only made things escalate as Thorin released her wrists and reach down to grab her behind the thighs. Lifting her up she wrapped her arms about his neck as her legs went about his waist. Then his lips were on her neck as he carried her back to the bed. He climbed the steps and laid her down carefully. For a moment she stared at him as he yanked off his tunic, then climbed over her. She noticed the recently closed scar on his chest where Azog had stabbed him and gently ran her fingers over it. From there her fingertips trailed downward over his chest and stomach. The attention made Thorin moan then he was kissing her more fiercely as he fumbled to open her tunic.
Finally he had enough of fumbling and with a sharp yank tore the sleep garment open. What happened next made Veirra see stars because she had no undergarments on. His rough fingers reached down to touch her intimately while his lips trailed kisses down to her breasts. Then his mouth was on her breast and she arched her back; while his rough fingers took advantage of her.
Any thoughts of stopping this before it went too far died out and Veirra was thrown over the edge as she clung to him and her nails scrapped his back. Thorin groaned appreciatively as his free hand ran over her other breast, then his fingers between her legs delved causing her to cry out. His mouth released her breast as he grinned up at her. "Does that mean you will agree to be my queen again?"
Veirra shivered as her mind screamed at her to say no, but she could not begin to form the words. Instead she bit her bottom lip and shook her head still wary of agreeing to be his fully. Thorin gave her a fierce look then chuckled. "I think you will agree to be mine again soon."
Veirra sucked in a breath at his words, then gasped as he resumed what he had been doing to her. Tonight was so very different from the other nights she had been with Thorin. Usually there was a sense of urgency as if they would be discovered, or their need for one another just became too much. It was intense, but wonderful. On the night that it felt like a stranger had taken her, she felt like she was just a possession of his. He had taken her roughly without feeling. Tonight he made her feel like she was all that mattered to him, there was still a bit of urgency to it as they had been apart too long.
Every so often Thorin would stop and repeat his question: "Will you agree to be my queen again?"
Eventually it became too much and after his attentions, Veirra could barely think straight. She knew she was wary of agreeing and fearful, but she did not think she could resist him much longer. "T—Thorin...ple-eease."
"Will you agree to be my queen again?" Thorin repeated firmly unwilling to give into her plea. Veirra trembled beneath him. Her mind told her to say no, but he had slowly taken her resistance away. Feeling defeated Veirra looked down ashamed.
"Yes." She answered softly.
"Thank you." Thorin said as he reached up catching her chin and raising her head, then leaned down and kissed her deeply. In the next moment the kiss deepened and that sense of urgency returned as Thorin pushed her flat and her legs wrapped about him. She gave a soft cry as she felt him push into her. However as he went to press into her more both froze when she winced, and Thorin looked down at her side which was still bandaged. How had he forgotten she was injured? Immediately the dwarf lord rolled off of her. "I should have known better then to forget you were injured..."
Veirra laid there stunned for a moment, but her desire to be with him did not die out. Instead she carefully rolled on top of him. Her legs straddling him as she eased onto him making Thorin moan. She was a little hesitant at first as she moved but gradually grew in confidence. "Veirra..." Thorin moaned as she began to move faster careful not to put any strain on either of their injuries. For the moment they lost themselves forgetting everything that had happened between them and becoming lovers once more. Nothing else mattered to the pair but each other as Veirra continued until Thorin sat up and gripped her about the waist so that she was in his lap. His finger ran through her hair and he gently pulled her head back exposing her neck and kissing her there.
Holding onto him tightly, Veirra did not slow down as the excitement of the moment made them want each other more until it became too much and left both gasping for air and dizzy. Thorin fell back onto the bed pulling her with him. To avoid his injury she tried to adjust her fall, but almost hurt him regardless since Thorin did not give her much room to avoid his injury. "Thorin you are injured..."
"As are you." Thorin said trying to be careful around the injury, but keep hold of her. "That does not mean I want to let you go."
"I think after this it is highly doubtful that I will slip away." Veirra pointed out.
"Yes you are right. After all you agreed to be mine once more." Thorin said smiling up at her.
"I have a few conditions with that." Veirra said cautiously.
"Of course you do." Thorin chuckled. "Go on..."
"I expect you to be you. Thorin Oakenshield. The same dwarf I travelled with, the same dwarf that was stubbornly irritating and obnoxious. The same dwarf that even though he would drive me mad still managed to be good and honourable." Veirra said as she looked at Thorin who brushed her hair from her face, "And if you change and become someone else I will beat you senseless, and not only that I will get the entire company to help me! I swear-"
Before she could finish her promise she was rolled onto her back by Thorin he smiled and chuckled at her. "I agree to your conditions, I agree."
"You better." Veirra said sharply and the humour left as Thorin looked at her and saw how worried she was. She chewed her bottom lip until Thorin caught her chin.
"I promise." Thorin said giving her light kisses, "I promise you can beat me senseless if I change and become unrecognisable to you." A moment later they were kissing deeply, but the pair were still recovering and now exhausted. Thorin relaxed and let Veirra get comfortable at his side where she laid on her good side and rested her head against his chest. Thorin pulled the covers over them and he could finally relax now that he had his ranger back. If he had his way he would never hurt her again, and would do everything to make her happy. While Veirra closed her eyes preying that she would not come to regret this decision.
Epilogue
In the months following the battle of five armies the area entered a time of peace. Veirra never came to regret the decision to forgive Thorin. The king under the mountain also apologised to Bilbo and the hobbit forgave him when he saw Veirra was happy by Thorin's side. The gold sickness that had affected the line of Durin proved to have died out, and a certain Grey Wizard was convinced a lingering corruption in the ranger now turned queen also died. The dwarves returned to Erebor and both Erebor and Dale were rebuilt grander than before. Bard became the new lord of Dale, and his eldest Sigrid eventually wed the dwarven prince Fili. The dwarven prince Kili also came to wed the elf maiden Tauriel. While there were protests to the marriages eventually the dwarven people accepted the dwarf lords choices after all they were the ones to fight to reclaim their homeland.
When Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey eventually left it was after much celebration, in which the hobbit left two of his closest friends to rule Erebor. Often the hobbit received letters from both and he wrote them as well never losing touch with his friends. Sadly happy endings are not absolute, Veirra never saw Atrice again. Her friend died in her sleep from whatever illness had plagued her for years. According to some Atrice passed on at the same time Gandalf sensed the corruption die in the ranger. Begging the question Was Veirra connected to the madness that took Atrice? While many speculated the answer no proof came and with Veirra free of her own corruption it was soon forgotten.
However according to the book Bilbo wrote years later the ending tells a different account. It is believed that instead of being caught by Asher, Veirra had left Erebor shortly after recovering. Thus another adventure had been called by Thorin to find Erebor's lost queen, but that is a story for another time.
Author's Notes:
This is the original ending I wrote, but always felt it was too short and could have been extended. I even had bits and pieces written out for a much longer story of Thorin and co going on another adventure to find Veirra after she left Erebor. However I cannot seem to get that story to fit right. Later perhaps if I can I will write that story. Instead now I am calling it on this story, but later if inspired I will consider writing a continuation to this story or the sad ending.
Anyway I hope you all loved this story and again am sorry I took so long to post it. I right now need to try and get over my writer's block for the Dracula story and finally start posting the Marvel story I have been working on for the past two years. I will update this story if I continue it by giving a small sample of the story to see what you guys think.
For now though I was glad to provide such a great story, and hope to see you guys and gals later in FanFiction.
Hugs,
Lesliezin
