Chapter 18

It snowed for the first time that season on Durin's Day, leaving a few inches of wet snow on the ground and promising a long and cold winter. From the moment they woke up in the morning until they went to bed that night, Thorin stayed by Bilbo's side and guards, both in uniform and some in festival clothing (Nori's idea), trailed and flanked them. Lord Bard the Dragonslayer and his three children were in attendance to the festivities as well as an envoy of elves from Mirkwood (much to Thorin's consternation), including Thranduil's son and heir. Thorin let Bilbo take care of that particular conversation, preferring to just pretend to listen attentively when he was really just admiring the way the lovely quilted red coat Bilbo wore made golden tones appear brighter in his hair. Bilbo, who was not at all fooled by Thorin's seeming rapture in the conversation, helped him by subtly twitching a finger on Thorin's arm when he needed some sort of response. Really, Thorin had the best husband in the entire mountain. There was no competition whatsoever.

The conversation with Bard was much easier to endure and at times even pleasant as they discussed the repairs in both the mountain and Dale.

"That cheating cheater face," Bilbo growled shortly after the dancing started early in the evening.

Thorin glanced down at the hobbit before following his line of sight only to see Nori smirking as he nodded towards Bard's oldest daughter as he talked to Fili who nodded and turned toward the girl. Thorin watched as Fili handed his cane to his mother and limped to the young woman, bowing slightly and offering her a playful grin. Moments later, he led her to the dance floor where they joined those already dancing. Despite his still healing injuries, Fili did well, holding himself straighter than Thorin had seen in what felt an Age.

"I'm afraid you will lose this bet," Thorin said, trying to sound apologetic but failing. It was hard to be upset when Fili looked happy for the first time in weeks.

"Only because Nori cheats!"

"I don't believe Fili needs much encouragement."

Bilbo glared up at Thorin before looking at the dancing couple. A moment later he sighed. "Perhaps you're right," he said. "I haven't seen him laugh in well over a month."

Thorin nodded. A flash of red hair caught his attention. "And then there's my other nephew who seems completely besotted with an elf."

Bilbo glanced around until he saw Kili and Tauriel dancing. As he watched, they spun away from each other only to return quickly, both smiling and utterly besotted with each other. "He does love her," Bilbo said.

Thorin grumbled something unintelligible under his breath.

"You must admit she has been good for him," Bilbo pressed. "According to Balin he's working harder at his studies, his archery has improved, and he's been to every meeting I've had with Thranduil's people and actually paid attention to the proceedings."

"But why does it have to be an elf?" Thorin demanded.

"She's his One," Bilbo said, "Or so Kili says. With how quickly he settled on her I wouldn't be surprised if it were true."

"But an elf."

"And I'm a hobbit. And Sigrid is human. Is it so much worse for Kili's One to be an elf?"

"Yes."

Bilbo rolled his eyes. "You're hopeless." They watched the dancers in silence for a time until the next song started. Without any other warning than the opening strains of music, Thorin pulled Bilbo onto the floor and into the dance. Laughing, Bilbo followed, doing his best to follow Thorin through the steps.

"You need lessons," Thorin said with a smile, carefully avoiding Bilbo's toes, "and boots to protect your feet if you're going to do any of the faster dances."

Bilbo made a disgusted face at the very notion. "Hobbits do not wear shoes," he said. "The very thought of it! So improper."

Thorin's smirk was entirely full of mischief. "I thought we were doing well at making you entirely improper or must I remind you of that tonight?"

Bilbo's jaw dropped and color flooded his face all the way to the tips of his pointed ears. "Thorin!" he admonished and then flinched when the couples around them glanced towards him. "Do you mind?" he hissed.

"Not at all," Thorin said and pulled Bilbo closer, bordering on improper, even for dwarrow. "It's hard to when I have such a charming, pretty little husband with which to dance."

If it were at all possible, Bilbo's face turned to an even brighter shade of red even as his mouth tugged involuntarily into a bashful grin. "Keep talking like that and you won't have to work hard to convince me later."

Thorin laughed and spun Bilbo around, determined to enjoy the evening and forget the problems surrounding them.

Nori appeared at Thorin and Bilbo's sides a time or two over the next few months, breathing heavily and once with what looked like blood splattered down one sleeve. He'd walked with them, talking hurriedly and making them move a bit faster in order to keep up with him.

"You're not fooling anyone, you know," Bilbo groused the third time Nori suddenly popped up next to them, this time with a gash on one cheek that still bled sluggishly. "How many were there this time?"

"I have no idea what you mean," Nori said, eyes wide in innocence but not too wide.

If Bilbo didn't already know about the assassination attempts, he might have believed him. As it was, "You have a cut on your cheek that's still bleeding."

Nori touched his face and then looked at his fingers. He cursed colorfully when he saw the blood. "Fine, there are three this time. Keep moving. It's harder to hit a moving target."

Thorin glanced at Dwalin who nodded. The guards walking with them closed in tighter, bringing shields around but not yet unsheathing swords or taking axes in hand. They hustled to their rooms where Dwalin posted extra guards for the rest of the week.

Two weeks later, Thorin stayed behind in their rooms after breakfast to speak to Dis. Flanked by guards, Bilbo went to the throne room for that day's public audience, arriving early as usual. He nodded to the guards who remained by the side entrance he and Thorin favored using. With guards posted at all doors to the room day and night no one worried about an assassination attempt.

Thorin wouldn't be too long, Bilbo knew as he walked down the path to the thrones that waited for them. He'd almost reached them when a figure dropped from somewhere and landed right in front of Bilbo. He jumped back and pulled out one of the knives he now wore tucked up his sleeve at Nori and Thorin's insistence, flashes of the foul creature he'd met in the depths of the goblin tunnels that he'd called Gollum running through his mind.

He barely managed to dodge the first lunge of the dwarf – for a dwarf it was - in front of him. He skipped backward and unsheathed Sting in the same motion. "Guards!" he shouted as loud as he could and knocked the ax aiming for his neck aside. "Guards!" He stepped back again. His heel dropped off the open ledge of the walkway. With a wordless cry, he fell, dropping his knife into the gaping chasm below. He scrambled, trying to find enough purchase on the smooth stone to pull himself entirely back up before the dwarf trying to chop off his head managed to do just that.

Bilbo glanced up just in time to see the ax coming at his face. He jerked to the side, away from his attacker and lost his grip on Sting but managed to pull himself up onto the walkway just as the guards crashed into the dwarf, tackling him to the ground.

Four more guards surrounded Bilbo and quickly ushered him back out of the throne room.

Thorin and Dwalin met them outside the doors.

"Bilbo? What-"

"Railings!" Bilbo shouted at Thorin, gripping the lapels of his surcoat and shaking. "Those dratted walkways need railings before someone falls off! Why in Mahal's name do you dwarrow not put blasted railings on all these walkways above drops that will surely end in death? Railings, Thorin. Railings!"

"Why were you close to the edge?" Dwalin asked.

"I was pushed!" Bilbo shouted at him without letting go of Thorin. "I don't go near the things if I can help it but it's kind of hard when someone is trying to chop off your head!"

Thorin paled. He wrapped an arm around Bilbo even as Dwalin ordered the guards to escort them back to their rooms.

Hours later Nori entered their rooms, his clothing fresh and Bilbo decided not to think on that fact.

"Well?" Thorin asked. "How did they get in the throne room without anyone knowing?"

"He climbed," Nori said.

"Climbed?" Bilbo asked as he set his book aside. "But isn't that impossible? What's even at the bottom of that room?"

Nori made a face. "There's access to the river down there. No one has ever successfully made that climb before, not that I'm aware of, but I found the dwarf's gear. He was a miner, specializing in exploring shafts and natural chasms."

"Was?" Bilbo asked quietly.

Nori shook his head. "Dead. Poisoned himself. Like many of the others we catch."

"Fanatics," Dwalin groused, followed by what Bilbo was sure was a curse in khuzdul. Really, he needed to have Kili teach him those in exchange for the Sindarin lessons.

Thorin scrubbed his face. "How much longer until we find the one behind this?" he demanded.

"Can't tell you," Nori said. "We're trying, Lira and me. Sorry I missed this one. Didn't put the threads together until just before Dwalin came to me with the news."

"This needs to stop."

Bilbo nodded, agreeing all too readily.

Two months later, Nori came to their rooms shortly after they'd eaten a late dinner after a day filled with long meetings with Dain and his advisors, working out trade deals and routes between Erebor and the Iron Hills.

"Don't leave your rooms," Nori told them before disappearing again.

Perplexed but wary, Bilbo and Thorin did as he ordered, each of them waiting up most of the night for news. The hours passed and finally, the sun came up. Still Nori didn't return and neither Dwalin nor Balin came to summon them to their duties for the day although Bombur did bring them meals.

"I prepared them myself," he said. "No one else has touched these trays. They'll be safe for you to eat."

"What is going on out there?" Bilbo asked Thorin once Bombur left.

"I wish I knew," Thorin said.

Late the second night, Dwalin knocked on their door. "The threat isn't there," he said. "You can resume your duties tomorrow."

"What happened?" Thorin asked.

Dwalin shrugged. "You'll have to ask your spymaster about it," he said and left.

The next morning, Thorin went to Nori's office before he was scheduled to inspect the progress on the guild halls. He found the spymaster standing before the wooden board with the strings and maps and lists and slips of paper. The amount of information had at least doubled since the last time he'd been in there.

"I don't understand," Nori said after a few moments when Thorin didn't speak. "There should have been an attack yesterday. Everything pointed to it. I even heard whispers of it." He glared at the board, eyes following along bits of yarn and scanning names and information.

"I believe you," Thorin said. "I trust you."

Nori sighed and shook his head before turning to Thorin. "I'm sorry for the false alarm."

"Perhaps it wasn't false," Thorin said. "Perhaps you spooked them when you alerted us of the imminent attack."

Nori's mouth set in a firm line. "Maybe," he said as he flopped into the single chair in the room, uncaring of sitting in his king's presence.

Thorin looked closer at Nori. "You're exhausted," he declared, seeing the bags under Nori's eyes and the pale cast to his skin. "When did you last sleep?"

"Hmm… What day is it?" Nori asked.

"Go. Sleep," Thorin ordered. "Nothing will happen while you rest."

Groaning, Nori clambered to his feet again. Thorin heard joints pop and crack at the motion. "I'll try," he said and climbed up onto the desk in the middle of the room. He moved some sort of false panel in the ceiling and pulled himself up into a narrow tunnel. "If you don't hear from me by dinner, send The Captain to arrest me. I've too much work to be doing to be lazing about for that long."

"I'll send him in the morning," Thorin told Nori. He didn't get a response as the panel slid seamlessly back into place, leaving no sign that it even existed. Shaking his head, Thorin left to go meet with Bofur about the miner's guild and their progress on restoring their guild hall.

"Bilbo?"

At the sound of Thorin's voice, Bilbo looked up from the small patch of flowers he kept in his greenhouse, most of it was dedicated to vegetables and herbs to help the royal family subsist through the cold winters. "Over here," he called and lifted a hand so Thorin might see him easier.

Slightly uneven heavy footsteps approached. Bilbo grimaced. It was cold and Thorin's foot must be aching for him to be limping again. Which meant Fili was probably in agony. He'd have to remember to have some willow bark tea sent to the prince.

"You may want to get cleaned up," Thorin warned. "We're needed in a meeting in an hour. I've already drawn a bath for you."

"Oh?" Bilbo asked as he stood and started stripping off his leather gloves. He gathered up his tools to place in their little cupboard. "What is this one about?"

"Fili," Thorin said, voice bleak and expression bleaker.

Bilbo repressed a groan. "In what capacity?" he asked. "Is he in trouble or are people concerned for his recovery? Or am I unaware of some great deed he's done?"

Thorin followed him back into their rooms and watched as Bilbo stripped out of the sturdy but plain clothes he wore while gardening. Bilbo placed them in the basket of their dirty laundry for cleaning later and went to the bathroom. He climbed into the large iron tub and started scrubbing immediately as Thorin leaned against the doorjamb.

"I wish it were something that simple," he said, "or that he and Kili were in trouble for some of their old tricks. That is, unfortunately, not the case."

Bilbo ducked under the water briefly to wet his hair before resurfacing and grabbing the soap. "Then what is it?" he asked as he worked up a lather.

Thorin heaved a sigh and Bilbo paused, looking over at him. Normally, Thorin openly stared at Bilbo with hooded eyes broadcasting his desire while Bilbo bathed or threatened to join him, making good on that threat on numerous occasions no matter how short on time they were. This time, however, Thorin's gaze was clear, and his mouth set in a grim line instead of the almost leering grin he half expected.

"Thorin?"

"The council seems to have finally given up on swaying me in my choice in spouse. They're moving down the line of succession."

Bilbo's shoulders tensed, his mouth set in a grim frown, his nose wrinkled, and he felt one of the deepest scowls he'd ever had pull his eyebrows together and down. "You're joking."

"I wish I were," Thorin said.

"Is Fili going to be at this meeting?" Bilbo asked scrubbing with renewed vigor. If that council thought they were going to dictate who his nephew married they had another think coming.

Thorin shook his head. "I don't want him there," he admitted. "I'm hoping among Dis, you, and I, we can keep them satisfied and away from Fili long enough for him to find someone suitable on his own."

"I thought you'd decided Lady Sigrid of Dale was his One."

Thorin shrugged. "I'm afraid there's no way to tell for sure without first driving him to the brink of madness by keeping them apart. Fili never had the Longing as far as I'm aware and she's human so she wouldn't have it either."

Bilbo opened the tub's drain and grabbed the pitcher set beside it. As the water drained out, he poured more into his pitcher and then over his head to rinse any lingering grime or soap off his skin. He took the towel Thorin offered him, drying quickly and heading back into their room and started to dress in the clothes Thorin had gotten out for him. "Well, let's go and take care of this before it becomes a bigger problem," he said.

"I'll meet you in the larger council room," Thorin said. "Balin is outside waiting for you with a few guards."

"What about-"

"Dwalin is waiting for me. I have a task I must complete before the meeting starts."

Bilbo grabbed Sting and buckled the sword belt on before checking his appearance in the mirror. His braid was still intact but the rest of his hair was hanging haphazardly around the rest of his head in a massive mess of curls. He ran a brush through it quickly before leaving their rooms, kissing Thorin on the cheek on the way. "I'll see you down there," he promised.

Balin greeted Bilbo as he entered the hallway. He looked as grim as Bilbo felt. "I take it you don't approve of the council's thoughts either?"

"Not in the slightest," Bilbo said, his words over-enunciated in his irritation. "The lad's barely past his majority. He shouldn't be betrothed for decades at the least."

Balin nodded his agreement and they walked the rest of the way to the council chambers in silence.

Ori waited for them there, already set up to take notes on the meeting. He too looked upset with the matter at hand. Bilbo took his place at the table to the right of where Thorin would sit and waited.

The lords on Thorin's council still mostly consisted of Dain's men but a few had been replaced with those of higher rank that had arrived from Ered Luin. As they trickled in, Bilbo ignored them, nodding only to Dis in greeting when she took her place across from him, at the left of Thorin's chair.

Finally, Thorin arrived, took his seat, and called the meeting to order. "Lord Grurfastr, why have you called this meeting?"

Bilbo grit his teeth. They all knew the reason but ceremony dictated Thorin begin the dance with that question.

An older, grizzled dwarf from the Iron Hills dressed in fine clothing climbed to his feet, resting his only hand on the table and leaning forward so he could look Thorin in the eye. "You have stated repeatedly that you will not divorce your husband and take a proper spouse," he started.

"His Highness is a proper spouse," Dis snapped from her seat. "He is His Majesty's One and no greater claim can be made."

Grurfastr ignored Dis but Thorin nodded to his sister in acknowledgment.

"The line of Durin is not as deep as it should be," Grurfastr continued. "We have come to discuss the need for Prince Fili to find a wife."

Dis leaped to her feet and started shouting in khuzdul. Bilbo, who had a fairly good understanding of the language by now thanks to Ori's tutoring, followed most of what she said with the exception of what he was pretty sure a large amount of very colorful insults and curses. More dwarrow joined the argument and Bilbo watched for a moment before glancing at Thorin. To his curiosity, Thorin didn't seem all that concerned at the moment, refusing to take part in the argument other than to put in a token amount of resistance. Could he possibly want Fili married?

The door banged open and Dwalin strode in. "This meeting is canceled," he said and guards flooded the room as Dwalin came to Thorin, Dis, and Bilbo. "You're in danger. We need to leave. Now."

Bilbo blinked. Danger? What danger? Another assassin? If they planned to strike during a council meeting they were losing their minds. Still, he stood and followed Dis, Thorin, and Dwalin out, guards following and surrounding them and Balin and Ori trailing behind. They hustled back towards the royal quarters and finally into the family's receiving room.

"What was that all about?" Bilbo asked Dwalin.

"Nori said there was chatter of another attack. We couldn't risk it," Dwalin said. "You'll be confined to the wing until we sort the mess out." He nodded to Thorin and left again.

"Not again," Bilbo groaned.

"Keeps us out of that pointless meeting," Dis remarked. "What were you thinking letting Grurfastr call it with so little notice?" she demanded, turning on Thorin.

He shrugged. "I cannot cancel every meeting," he said. "You reminded me of that very fact last week."

"But this is different!" Dis shouted. "They're talking about my son!"

"I'm aware," Thorin said. "But now, thanks to this threat, we have time to discuss the matter and prepare our counter-arguments or other offers before we meet with them again."

"If I may," Ori said quietly from his position by the fireplace.

All eyes turned to him but he ignored them, studiously searching through his pile of notes and books until he found what he was looking for.

"What is it, lad?" Balin asked.

Finally, Ori found what he was looking for and held up an older book. "According to Ereborian law as established by Nain I, all those that wish to marry a member of the royal family must first defeat a member of the king's guard, offer an acceptable gift to the intended, and then courtship may be started. If any of these criteria are not met, the courtship cannot happen."

"We're aware of the law," Dis said. "What's your point, Ori?"

"Fili has to approve the gift," he said and looked up from his book. "The council does not have a say in it."

"That's not how it was for me," Dis said, confused. "Vili had to be approved by Grandfather's council before we married."

"That's Ered Luin's law," Ori said. "As your family ruled there at the time, you had to abide by the laws there, same as any other. He does have to have a plausible reason to refuse the gift though."

Bilbo grinned. "Ori, you're brilliant."

"We'll keep as many away from even making it to that stage of the Challenge," Thorin said. "Dwalin will need to be standing as guard on as many of those occasions as possible."

Dis nodded in agreement. "We'll need to tell Fili," she said.

"We hold off the council as long as we can," Bilbo said. "The longer we're able to, the longer Fili will have to heal and not have this hanging over his head as well. He doesn't need any more reasons to struggle with his situation."

Thorin nodded, taking Bilbo's hand into his own. "We'll support him in any way that we can. Prolong the inevitable and when it happens, we will be the ones to tell him of the news. He deserves our support."

Everyone nodded and Bilbo started planning, trying to think of reasons to keep the council busy and away from the subject of Fili's marriage for as long as possible. With the oncoming spring, he could stall with meetings on planting crops. The subject was important enough to garner priority for at least a little while. If there was one thing he could contribute, it was the ability to talk of gardening for hours.

They managed until the snows had melted but the grounds were still soft and muddy. Thorin's council finally managed to bring the matter forward and push it to the point they couldn't stall any more when Bilbo was forced to stay in their rooms with a cold for three days straight. By the time he recovered, Dis and Thorin found they had no choice but to talk to Fili about his impending marriage.

Bilbo sat with Thorin, Balin, and Dis as they met with Fili in the lesser council room, the one often reserved for business among the royal family and perhaps a guild or a single foreign dignitary.

"What's this about?" Fili asked taking a seat and setting his cane against his chair. "Have I done something wrong?"

Dis couldn't even look at her son, anger and sorrow rendering her mute for the time being.

"No, Fili," Thorin said, "you haven't done anything wrong."

Fili's eyes traveled between them and his scowl deepened. "Then what is it you wanted to talk to me about? More duties?"

Dis slumped further in her chair and Fili's eyes darted to his mother briefly with a flash of concern before returning to his uncle. "Thorin?"

"The council has demanded that we make our line more secure, both by the possibility of more heirs as well as with a stronger connection with another kingdom, preferably one with Men," Thorin said. He kept his hands clasped on the table. Bilbo couldn't help but notice Thorin's knuckles turning white as he spoke.

A flash of dawning comprehension and horror flitted across Fili's expression before he schooled it back into neutrality. Bilbo felt a bit of pride over that, knowing how hard Fili worked to hide his emotions now that he was a more prominent figure than he'd been back in Ered Luin when he'd been no more than an exiled prince. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were telling me I must start considering marriage."

Silence met his words and he paled slightly.

"You jest," Fili said, trying to laugh off the situation.

Bilbo watched Thorin flinch even as he said, "Fili, it's been a year since you recovered. The mountain is being rebuilt. More and more of our people return to the mountain each week. We must look to the future of our people now."

"How does this affect our people?" Fili demanded. "It's my personal life."

"We must create strong political ties with other nations. The easiest way to do so is through marriage."

Fili bristled. "You may have been willing to marry for political reasons," he growled. Thorin and Bilbo both winced and glanced at each other furtively, knowing the origins of their own marriage, no matter how they felt about each other, "but I am not. You've got ties with the Shire," he nodded at Bilbo, "and to the elves in Mirkwood through Kili's engagement to Tauriel. We have Dain and the Iron Hills to the east and those that remain in the Blue Mountains. What more do you want?"

"We have alliances with elves, Hobbits, and dwarrow," Balin said, voice apologetic but matter-of-fact, "but our ties with Men are still only in writing and thus not as strong as they could be. And you are without an heir beyond your brother."

"Amad," Fili said almost pleadingly.

"I am sorry Fili," Dis said and refused to look up. "If you had found your One, maybe things would be different but as it stands, we must secure Erabor's safety."

Fili climbed to his feet, grabbing his cane and left the council room without another word. The door slammed behind him and they all flinched at the sound.

Balin sighed. "That could have been worse," he admitted.

"But it could have been better," Dis added and sighed. "Give him some time to calm down. We'll need to explain that he still has time, that he still gets to pick his spouse, one way or another."

"It doesn't change the fact that now he has the pressure of having to marry," Thorin said and rubbed a hand down his face. "Mahal, this is a mess."

"It's not about to get better," Nori said and darted into the room. Blood dripped down his arm. "We're about to have company."

"Good," Dis growled and picked up her ax from where she'd left it by the door. "I could use a good fight right now."

Thorin stood too, orcrist ringing as he pulled it from its sheath. "I'll join you," he said and together they entered the hall to face off the next group of would-be assassins. With a sigh, Bilbo unsheathed Sting and followed, knowing he would probably need to stop his husband from doing something rash. Again.