My darlings,

Thank you for your patience. If you're reading this chapter it means you've endured my frequent recent disappearances... and I'm grateful! And I'm BACK! We've moved into our new house, and I've even survived the first few weeks of the whole first-time-house-ownership madness, which included dealing with asbestos removal, the mysteries of ducting, and painting my first ever wall! :D And now I have my own studio (OK, I do share it with my techno composing partner, but I got a lot of space - and it's facing our large backyard, which means lots of sunlight for my painting and... squirrels!)

I'm hoping to get back to much more frequent updates - and lots of drama for these two lovebirds. Stay tuned!

Love you xx

K. K.

She could see that he was considering what she'd told him: his brows were drawn, his face dark.

"That Iwar you mentioned," he said slowly, "Is he one of the Bargeman's Men?"

"He'd served with me the past few moons. I've been introducing him to the matters of the trade between Dale and Erebor," Eorwyn answered. "I'd assumed he'd take my place when– when I left Dale for Erebor."

"Do you trust him?"

"I don't trust anybody," Eorwyn answered quickly.

For a second the King's face lit up with a small smile.

"Do you not?" he asked.

Eorwyn shook her head.

"No. It was his own initiative to detain the Man from my past. He said he'd done it to prevent rumours from spreading and in his words he only had my interest at heart." Eorwyn sighed. "He hasn't asked for anything in return, but–"

"But what?"

"But he now has power over me." Eorwyn twisted her hands. "He knows of the Man. He knows of my past. Maiar know, how much that filth had shared with Iwar and his cousin while they'd guarded him in that room… And how much he'd lied. And at the moment..." She exhaled sharply. "At the moment he's in that room, and I see only one way out of it."

The King tilted his head studying her face. She couldn't read his expression.

"And what is that way, my little hen?" he asked quietly.

"He needs to be escorted out of the city," Eorwyn said with another sigh. "I've considered… other means of ridding myself of him, of course, but–"

He made a low noise his throat, and Eorwyn stopped and looked up at him.

"You have actually considered killing him," he said. His eyebrows were raised in disbelief.

Eorwyn swallowed with difficulty.

"Does it– does it shock you?" she asked, fear grasping her heart. He was a noble honourable man, she thought, perhaps she'd just shown herself below him.

"It does," he said and shook his head. "I never thought you capable of such thoughts."

"Are you… upset with me?" Eorwyn asked in a small voice, and he suddenly guffawed.

"Hardly, my love." A lopsided smirk twisted his lips. "If anything it only makes you more charming. The lack of backbone in a woman would disenchant me. You wanting to twist his neck? That just shows me you have mettle."

"I'd rather he bled out in a dirty ditch. Twisting his neck is too clean," Eorwyn muttered under her breath.

She remembered the blood on the sheets she had had to wash in that house, and the horrors the girls couldn't even speak of, and how broken their bodies had been, and how lifeless their eyes had seemed.

"That could be arranged," the King answered just as quietly.

That shook Eorwyn out of her thoughts.

"No, no," she shook her head frantically. "Don't say such things. That's why I didn't want to come to you in the first place. You should be involved in such matters. You're a King, and–"

"Eorwyn..." he interrupted her softly.

"No!" She covered his lips with her fingers. "Let's not speak evil. I just wish him gone. Out of Dale, out of my life." She looked into his eyes. "Please, Thorin… please. Just listen to what I think."

He nodded and started answering, and she could feel his lips move under the tips of her fingers. The whiskers of his moustache scraped at her skin, and suddenly she threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. She didn't want to think of the past, of the pain and the terror that flooded her. She wanted to be his Eorwyn: alive, strong, safe, in love…

He answered to her kiss, just as passionately and urgently as she did, just as she craved. His hands fisted around handfuls of her cloak on her back. He squeezed her, and his lips opened greedily. She could feel his teeth and his tongue join the buss, and she moaned and arched into him.

And then she winced away and panted out, "I'm sorry, that was so inappropriate, I just–"

He laughed, raspily, and then leaned and kissed her again. She had no composure in his arms, it seemed. Her body responded to him, without her will. She just couldn't get enough! She kissed, and bit, and sank her teeth into his bottom lip, and coarse groans fell from her lips.

And then it was his turn to stop and move away from her.

"Halt, my heart," he said and cleared his throat. "This is hardly the place for–" He gave out another small cough.

"Forgive me, I don't know what came over me," she started muttering, and he cupped her face. His thumb brushed at the corner of her lips.

"I hardly think you flaming up in my arms like that requires an apology, my heart," he said with a chuckle.

She could see his brilliant blue eyes in front of her. Her cheeks burnt.

"We've been speaking of violence, and then I–" She couldn't quite finish her thought, and he chuckled again.

"That's very Dwarven of you, my little hen. Bloodshed makes our blood run hotter."

She gave out a shaky laugh.

"So," he said tilting his head again, "What is your plan here, my clever hen? You don't want to gut the caitiff. You want him escorted out of Dale, correct?"

"As far as possible," Eorwyn answered readily. "And I think Iwar would agree to do it, or to find someone to do it. But I want to take this matter out of his hands as soon as possible. He already knows too much. And if I had Men or Dwarves I trusted to do it discreetly and never speak of it, I'd hire them. But I have none."

"That I can help you with," he said.

"Oh but I wish I didn't have to ask you!" she exclaimed, and she felt tears sting her eyes again. "It's bad enough that there are three Men who know of the past of the future Queen Under the Mountain! Now you will have to have several Khazad involved into it too! And you too! I wish I could keep you out of this business!"

He smiled at her warmly.

"That is very prudent of you, my heart," he said.

"It's not prudent at all! I wish this nasty business could just be dealt with!"

"It will be," he consoled her and placed a small kiss on her cheek. "I have just the Dwarf in mind. He'll have it looked after, and you'll never have to think of it again."

Eorwyn sighed and nodded.

"I just wish–" she started.

"Aye, aye, you've said so many times, my little hen," he laughed. "You wish I didn't have to be involved because you're concerned to tarnish my honour." He smirked. "We shall just pass this matter in the hands of a Dwarf whose reputation will not suffer, and we will stay uninvolved." He stroked her cheek tenderly. "And we will consider it done and forgotten. You've come to me as your lover, this way the crown of Erebor will remain uninvolved."

"I have– I have a favour to ask," Eorwyn said quietly. "Will you promise me… that he will live?"

The King gave her a long pensive look.

"I wasn't going to discuss it," he said. "Do you think it wise? Perhaps, if you just pretend to not know-" He trailed away with a pointedly raised eyebrows. "I'll give no direct order either, so that if any calamity befall him…"

"I suspect it might," she whispered. "And I reckon some... harm will befall him. And I don't want to think of it, or know anything. I will just ask you to spare his life. Not for his sake of course, you see… but for mine and yours. I don't wish his death, as deserving of torment and persecution as he is, to be on your hands or mine."

She cupped his face with both her hands.

"I just want him gone," she whispered. "He is nothing. He means nothing. I'm… free of him. And I don't want his shadow - of his life or death - to be in my life, especially now that there's so much joy ahead of me." She placed a slow loving kiss on his lips. "I am yours now. You are my life. And we have joy and love ahead of us. I don't want any darkness..."

He was silent for a few seconds - and then he nodded slowly. Eorwyn exhaled in relief, and their lips met in a deep kiss.

"This is all well and done with," the King said a few minutes later, and Eorwyn opened her eyes.

She stared at the ceiling. She was still sitting on his lap, he'd been kissing her neck, and her head was dropped back. They'd been behaving so unseemly - on the floor in his study, their hands wandering each other's bodies. And more so, she just couldn't stop - and she wanted more! The thought of what they'd done the night before had come to her mind several times by now! And she'd even thought of how she could hint to him that he didn't have to jerk his hands away from her bodice every time his fingers brushed at the lacing! And then she'd even imagined how easy it would be to simply fall back on the floor, and then she'd feel his body on top of her - and something sweetly shook and clenched inside her!

"But you see, my heart, we have another small predicament to solve," he murmured and sat straighter.

Eorwyn as much as whined in disappointment - and then she told herself she was preposterous! Such affairs weren't to take place on the floor! At daylight! And of course he wasn't even thinking of such improper matters right now!

She willed herself to focus on his words.

"What predicament?" she asked breathing heavily.

"You'd been seen, my love," he deadpanned. "Leaving my rooms in the morning."

Eorwyn gasped.

"So we need to decide how we are to announce our union, my hen," he said and laughed. "And then I say we go to my chambers and we continue with what you'd been so industriously refraining from."