She watched as the tall frame of the golem disappeared through the door following Gandalf. For such a large creature made entirely of clay, or so she was led to believe, he was particularly quite nimble and light footed, and name no noise as he moved. Then finally feeling subconscious about remaining in the room with Thorin, when she felt so confused about him, she stood to leave.

But just as she did, she felt a large calloused hand grasp her wrist firmly.

"Where are you going?"

"To watch the fireworks." She looked up to find his piercing sapphire eyes, clearly gauging her for her reaction.

"You will not make it there on time." He let her go and gestured towards a bookshelf in his office. "You're better off watching it from here."

"… a bookshelf?" She followed his gaze.

"Not quite…" he replied smugly, suppressing a smirk, as he moved a book from the shelf and touched the wood behind the wide volume, before stepping back to avoid the entire ceiling height shelf as it swung open. "I have discovered a few secret passages, thanks to my fathers journals. He was meticulous in his documentation and instruction. But it seems, none of these passages have any light…"

He stepped over and held his hand out for her.

"So you will need to trust me to lead you.."

She paused and considered his offer for a minute, which seemed to wipe any signs of smugness from his rugged features. Then she took his hand and followed, stepping into the darkness.

"I am a bit scared of spiders –"

"I have had this passage cleaned out."

"Oh."

They walked on for several long minutes, as he led her with care, before finally emerging into the night air, on a balcony. They could see the sweeping driveway below as it made its way to the grand entrance of the Manor, and the marquee sat in the fields surrounding. There was something rather pretty about the view from above as the crowds buzzed below with excitement, some had already gathered outside, while others still chatted, laughed raucously and carried under the white canopy, which was illuminated with what looked like thousands of small, soft lights.

She stood there watching silently, when a cold breeze danced past her. It ruffled the many layers of embroidered and sequinned navy chiffon that formed the skirt to her dress, and played with her hair, whipping a few strands across her face. Stifling her shiver, and suddenly feeling self conscious, she reached up and brushed those strands away.

Then without warning she felt a large dinner jacket land gently, over her shoulders.

"Thank you."

"My pleasure. You look stunning – as always, but that dress does little to keep you warm. And it's particularly chilly up here…." He watched her carefully as she looked down below at the gathering crowd, and moved closer. The desire to wrap his arms around her and pull her against his body was strong, so he clasped his hands together behind his back. The woman's sister had given him a brutal warning – and he too knew she was still healing after all that had transpired.

They stood together in silence, but it didn't feel awkward. The tension between them however was palpable, with each wanting to hold the other, but fighting the urge nonetheless!

"I'm sorry if Myra's visit has complicated things… it really wasn't something I planned – in fact I'm surprised she would even visit me like that –" she was halted mid sentence when she glanced at him to find he actually wore a soft smile as he watched her.

"I understand – I have a meddlesome sister too…" he gave her a nod before they both looked back out below for fear that each may give in to their desires again. "I understand she meant well…"

"Nope. She is just staying away from gossiping crowds after the wedding debacle. Apparently it is still the most talked about topic of gossip."

He remained silent for a moment. There was a time when he was once gossiped about as a young man and it had not ended pleasantly; in fact he had chosen to keep their relationship a secret for that very reason, but he was no longer sure about anything. She had turned his entire world upside down.

"It's fine. At least I'm here – and there's no need to go back…" she suddenly felt the need to fill the silence. "Well – for now anyway…"

"Does it trouble you still?" He abruptly asked, wondering whether she still bore any feelings for her former betrothed.

"Not about Mike and Ria. If that's what you mean." She corrected him. "It makes no difference to me. I'm not upset about it – maybe a betrayed by the people I thought were my friends, but I guess I just have to make more friends… No, I'm sorry my family has to deal with the blow back – the gossip. After all I did nothing wrong other than choose to marry a someone who apparently couldn't keep it in his pants."

He silently took in what she said and mulled over it for a few moments as the first firework flew into the sky and exploded into a myriad of stars. The incandescence did not fade, but rather each sparkle glowed and twinkled for a few minutes as they fell to the ground.

Gandalf's fireworks he had witnessed before, instead he found himself mesmerised by her, as she watched wide eyed with wonder.

"I'm sorry." He finally uttered gently, as he stood closer still. His hand brushed against the soft chiffon of her dress as he shifted slightly.

She suddenly turned to look at him with surprise, interrupted by his unexpected apology.

"I realise that I have come across very… overbearing… stifling…" he struggled, despite feeling he was entirely right in his decisions.

"Overprotective? Dictatorial –"

"Yes, well…" he grunted back less pleased by her descriptions. "The point is that when I took over the Lordship, I was young and it was under harder circumstances. And my only way to control the situation and keep everyone safe was to rule with an absolute firmness and caution that didn't risk anything more…"

He paused to look at her again, and she too seemed far more engrossed in what he had to say now.

"While I still stand by my decisions with utter certainty, I think perhaps… I need to understand… that you come here from a life of relative freedom, unlike others in Erebor who accepted my word as though… I were some sort of…"

"Dictator or God?" She rolled her eyes.

"King or Rule-maker was more what I had in mind. But thank you for the clarification on how you feel." He forced out the words trying to keep his temper under control. "The point is that I am trying to understand the rashness with which you act – and I am trying to explain the reasons behind my decisions. And you must understand that society here – the world WE live in is wilder than the world you come from…"

She sighed, conceding his point and nodded.

"Noted." She finally replied turning up to look at the fireworks again. This time several rockets whizzed up in unison to explode into the shape of a large statuesque man wielding a hammer, and as the sparkles fell, it looked as though he brought his hammer down onto an anvil, which then exploded into a myriad of little stars once more! It was spectacular in a way she had never seen of fireworks before! Not even the amazing displays in London on New Year's Eve had compared to these!

He watched her silently, a soft smile threatening to reveal itself on his lips in reaction to her almost childlike wonder at Gandalf's displays. They stood close enough that he could observe the way that the breeze gently played with the short strands of ebony that fell onto her face, and way in which the brilliant sparks reflected in her big, brown eyes.

"See, it's nice to give me a little bit like that about yourself. It helps me understand…" she admitted turning towards him, to catch him looking away suddenly. "I thought you were upset because I didn't get 'permission' from you before my sister came to visit…"

"No. I would never deny you of your kin." There was no doubt in his response to this. "My only concern was for your safety…"

"Okay. I get that now." She nodded slowly. "But you don't have to worry anymore… I have Cole. Did you know that he can change the colour and appearance of his clay surface to match anything?

"The Golem?" He grumbled unhappily ignoring her praise. "I do not trust him –"

"He has sworn to protect me, I mean – why would he choose to 'serve' me?!"

"Why indeed…" he held up his hands after his cynical reply. "Very well! We shall see when we go to Fiji."

"Okay and if I'm right will you be more open…?" She laughed but he seemed to be quite serious.

"Of course. But if I am right… ?" He watched her as yet another myriad of dazzling stars exploded in he air above them, but those big, brown eyes of hers were no longer watching them. Instead they remained entirely devoted to gazing up at him. It stirred a primal desire in him.

"If you're right…" she hesitated at first, knowing he wanted her to agree to his rules and then smiled at him rather invitingly. "I doubt that will happen. But if it does then…"

She hesitated again.

"…then I will admit you were right –" her attention was immediately drawn away by the roar of applause and loud cheering from below as the display came to a conclusion. "Where is Gandalf –"

But her question was already answered by the distant thrum of helicopter blades which continued to fade as Shadowfax carried him away.

They both stood there in the dark watching the crowds below as they continued to slowly dissipate in groups back to the marquee, chatting and laughing.

He stood so close to her, that she yearned to touch him – to feel his hard, broad frame, surrounding her, as they had done quite so often until recently. But until they both had clarity about where this relationship was going, she would focus her mind on something else. She closed her eyes and let the cool night air wash over her, hoping it would dull the butterflies that were beginning to mount in the pit of her stomach for being so close to him, and thinking of all the delectable things he had done to her not so long ago.

"Shall we…?"

She felt him move closer and gently wrap an arm around her waist.

"It's getting chilly out here."

Her thoughts suddenly jumped to the group down below – where she had left a very tipsy Myra flirting dangerously with both Kili and Dwalin, and a very competitive Bilbo egging on the surprisingly risk-taking Fili into gambling more at a game of poker!

"Oh my God! We have to get down there right now!"

…

Myra and Shobha walked back along the corridor, led by a small group consisting of Fili, Kili, and Dwalin in front.

Bilbo rather happily strode alongside Shobha, smug with his rather heavy winnings from the game of poker which had accrued more spectators and gamblers. Ori and Bifur had taken further bets on who would win, which Bilbo had cleverly found a way to place a bet in on also! This had all resulted in a near fight between several of the Ereboreans. Fortunately Myra had defused the situation, which had meant a small argument had broken out between Kili and Dwalin in her absence!

So on her return, Shobha had arrived to a very glum scene of a sulking group of men, who looked like toddlers that had just been robbed of their favourite toys! And the night had come to an early conclusion.

"I told you this wouldn't end well." Shobha whispered first to Myra and then to Bilbo, who looked innocently surprised at her. "Yes – I mean you too! Really – you didn't have to win EVERY SINGLE round did you Bilbo?!"

"It was just a bit of fun!" He pouted innocently patting the pockets of his waistcoat. "Besides, Kili was starting to get quite drunk himself… so it was the perfect reason to get Myra out before –"

"They started dancing! All left footed you know…" Myra frowned at Bilbo, cutting in quickly.

"Oh Jeez – what happened there?!" Shobha snapped angrily, so when neither of the two flanking her replied, she became suspicious. "Perhaps I should just ask Fili –"

"They both got a bit too tipsy…" Myra began and then quietly whispered the last few words making it hard to fully hear what she had to say. "And were trying to convince me to have a three-some… maybe…"

"What?!"

"Oh God Shobha! Don't be such a prude! I may be older than you and a despite being a working mother to two… I still got it!" Myra laughed pretending to indicate that her arse was so hot it was on fire!

"Yes and you're still married as well!" Shobha scowled at her sister with a mixture of equal measures of disgust and shock.

"Oh relax! I was never going to go through with it." Myra rolled her eyes matter of factly. "Anyway… where were you misus?! Having a quickie with your bang-buddy –"

"Oooh is that what it is?" Bilbo laughed bypassing Shobha to give Myra a high-five.

"No!" Shobha put her hands out to break up their lewd cackling.

"Oh I get it… it's all very stiff and civilised… you know 'ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross' kind of jobbie!" Bilbo laughed again, mocking an air of snobbery.

"No! No! There's no banging or cock –anything!" Shobha snapped at them both harshly.

"Oh. Shame. Maybe you'd be more relaxed if there was…" Myra joked again, as Shobha growled back angrily.

"Okay. Right. This is you, Bilbo. No more poker!" Shobha stopped outside Bilbo's room.

"No – I think any more winnings and I would probably have to declare it in my tax returns!" He chuckled before turning to Myra and pretending to whisper although keeping his voice still quite audible. "But maybe… we should drop your sister off at Thorin's and ask him to 'poke-HER'!"

They both burst out laughing, much to Shobha's chagrin.

"Poke her?!" Dwalin laughed joining in. "I donnae think Thorin even remembers what his tool is for anymore – let alone poking!"

"Aye! You'd probably have to stick mothballs down his pants first – and then spend a few days clearing out the cobwebs and dust… maybe even use some WD-40 to clear out the rust!" Fili hooted, ribbing Dwalin back, who was now doubled over with laughter.

"He probably doesn't even remember how to take a piss standing up!" Bilbo laughed joining in, wiping away a few tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

"Aye! He probably forgot how to slap his sausage – and ended up cutting it off, frying it and serving it up for breakfast!" Kili attempted rather tipsily. Except this time everyone who had been imagining a very sexually deprived Thorin, had gone ahead and visualised this too!

"Ew! A bit too graphic!" Myra grimaced in disgust.

"Mahal brother! Why must you always cross the line?!" Fili shook his head disapprovingly.

"Aye – have ye no respect fer the penis?! Donnae ye feel another man's pain laddie?!" Dwalin chastised before starting to walk off again as he called back at Bilbo. "Night Master Baggins!"

The girls quickly wished Bilbo a good night before carrying on towards Shobhas room.

Finally, the three men had spent a slightly longer time wishing Shobha and Myra a good night – with Dwalin and Kili planting gentle kisses across the back of Myra's hand, and shooting her forlorn looks.

"Honestly, Myra – you're supposed to be the sensible one!" Shobha pointed out as she shut the door to her room, and bolted it, watching her sister kick off her shoes and sit heavily on the small sofa.

"Tell me that the thought has never even crossed your mind?" Myra laughed at her younger sister. "Dwalin's all – Vin Diesel and Kili's got this Poldark thing going for him…"

Shobha slipped off her shoes and quickly let down her hair, taking out the pins she had used to keep it up, before addressing her sister.

"No. They're kind of a bit like brothers to me now…"

"Not Fili though… I see the way he looks at you – tried to hide it but definitely wants to get in your. Cookie jar – and probably would if not for his cock-blocking uncle!" Myra laughed again. "Maybe a threesome is what you need…"

"What we both need is some proper sleep. You have an early train tomorrow."

…

She watched the brilliant blue ocean below from out of the small window beside her seat, as she began to feel her eyes close again. It was probably getting close to midday at their destination, and it was probably going to be very hot already, she imagined based on how the sun shone so brightly. The plane was already in descent and would land fairly soon.

This had been the third connecting flight they had taken since they transitted through Kuala Lumpur after their last big commercial flight. And the planes had grown smaller and noisier with each change! At least this time the seats were individual. She had sat next to Cole, the Golem during the first small flight, and fallen asleep on his shoulder, which had annoyed Thorin, who had sulked during the following two hours of transit. Then she had fallen asleep and her head had accidentally leant on a complete stranger during the next flight, which had upset him even more!

She had never been to Fiji which had kept her excitement going despite the long journey, as a result of their abrupt need to travel! Feeling her eyelids shut heavily under their own weight, she drifted off to sleep, only to be awoken around twenty minutes later by Thorin himself, as they had landed and were getting ready to disembark.

"Where's Cole?" She looked ahead as all the passengers were stood from their seats in a forest of chaos, collecting their luggage from overhead lockers, chatting and some even queuing to leave the plane.

"He has already left ahead – he is not to be seen with us for now." Thorin replied irritated. "Come on, gather your things and let's get going – I look forward to a decent shower and a sleep!"

She stretched before quickly scrambling to her feet and grabbing her bag.

As they emerged from the exit onto the air stairs, she could feel the warm tropical air wrap itself around her. The island that she could see beyond the airport was lush and green, while the Pacific to the other side of the runway was an expanse of deep azure as far as the eye could see.

She clutched at her skirt as a sudden cooler gust of wind, coming in from the ocean, whirled around her, threatening to provide her with her own less glamorous Marilyn moment.

"My lady, we have a driver waiting." Thorin gently reminded her from behind. "Here, let me take your hand luggage…"

She felt his hand on hers taking her weekend bag out of her hands, effortlessly. And so she descended the wobbly air stairs and followed the other passengers to the terminal.

By the time they had reached their driver, Cole was nowhere to be seen. But worst of all, her small suitcase had been lost, she imagined it would have been on one of the many transit flights. Fortunately she had packed a spare summer dress, a swimsuit, a spare set of underwear and a small wash bag with a toothbrush and a few pieces of makeup, but had nothing else! And there had been nothing in the way of dutyfree or other shops in the airport. Ground staff had been very helpful, taking down all her details, offering to chase up her luggage, even though their expressions had rapidly changed upon hearing that she was a guest of Lord Elrond!

Their drive inland had been quite long, their initial route had been a beautiful road winding along the coast. But then, the route had turned inland travelling uphill through green dense vegetation.

Finally the driver had pulled up in a large clearing at a set of enormous and rather impressive dark gates, beyond which a long, tree-lined road snaked away into the distance.

"This is the way to Imladris, my Lord." The driver turned off the engine, after parking up, his previously relaxed demeanour shifting fast into a partial state of nervousness.

"Aye. And we want you to take us all the way –"

"Please Sir, we do not travel beyond the gates." He had already stepped out of the car, and moved around to open THorin's door. "Normally, his Lordship might have a small buggy waiting for you – but I think they may be all busy with preparing for guests. We have not had visitors for some time now…"

"What do you mean by this?!" Thorin began angrily. "We have luggage –"

"My Lord, please forgive me, but we do not venture beyond the gates unless invited, for none that pass without permission return. It is the way." He explained appearing terrified. "It is not far to walk… please. I have a young family –"

"Thorin!" Shobha followed him out of the car watching the exchange. But Thorin himself turned to her, his own expression demonstrating his sympathy for the man. "I'm fine to walk – besides I don't have any luggage now either…"

He looked at the poor driver and nodded. So without hesitation the driver unloaded the only case from the boot of the car and quickly drove off leaving them at the gates.

She walked over to the gates and looked at the well maintained road that worked its way up through the dense foliage. Amongst the sounds of crickets and birds chirping she could just about make out the noise of flowing water. Between the expressions that the islanders appeared to give on hearing of their invitation to visit Imladris and the interesting location, she found her piqued curiosity was keeping her from fatiguing.

"What king of vampires would live in a gorgeous, super sunny, tropical island?" She mused as she walked ahead looking around.

"Imladris is located quite far from any other settlements." Thorin replied back. "I imagine they simply do not come out during the day…"

"And we are still fairly close to the coast on one side right?"

"Aye."

"So theoretically we should have the beach to ourselves during the day!" She suddenly found herself excited by the thought. "I could swim naked and no one would see!"

"I forbid it!" Thorin replied looking at her wide-eyed with surprise at her suggestion, as he trudged beside her. Their path had turned into a steep uphill walk. "You can never trust these creatures –"

"What's the problem – Cole is not far off –"

"You will not wonder off ANYWHERE without me! And that is final."

"You're not –" but before she could disagree the tarmac had suddenly widened into a small area where several flashy sports cars were parked on one side, and small golf buggies on the other side.

And just ahead as the trees cleared, a collection of several buildings built from white marble came into view. They appeared to be built into a valley surrounded by the rest of the mountains, which framed the scene with several breath-taking waterfalls beyond.

She immediately stopped her journey, looking around to admire the vista, much to Thorin's irritation, although he begrudgingly halted to allow her to do as she pleased.

The white stone of the buildings that formed the town, appeared to rise out of the lush greenery and the sharp contrast was highlighted further by clusters of brightly coloured tropical flowers, which had been clearly landscaped to grow in select places.

"Gosh! It's gorgeous!" She smiled, looking around, as he grunted his disagreement under his breath sourly.

"I am glad you think so, my lady…"

They both turned towards their left, to find a small group of tall, lean men walking over. They resembled the Greenwood vampires a lot in terms of their general build, and even wore their hair out long, with braids and ties holding it back from their faces.

The group even moved in an odd, fluid manner that was clearly not human as they drew closer. And the strange long tunics and kaftans they wore, merely accentuated their movement, to make it look as though they were gliding over!

But what was most surprising was their pale faces, with their chiselled, statuesque features as they moved fearlessly through the brilliant sunshine, completely unshaded: Their pale skin seemed to shimmer, even glitter in the sun! It was like their skin was made of perfectly cut crystal that sparkled in the sun!

And unlike their Greenwood kin, who moved in darkness, and covered themselves in leather, these vampires seemed to make no attempt to hide their true appearance. On the contrary, they seemed to celebrate their appearance quite freely!

"Welcome to our hidden valley, Imladris!" The vampire at the front spoke, holding his arms open, before he bowed his head gracefully. He was clearly their leader, as they all kept a few steps behind him, respectfully.

"Lord Elrond…?"

"Yes. And you must be Dr Seth?" He pulled his lips into a toothless but sincere smile. "I have heard so many good things about you, from Gandalf. He is a most dear friend to us indeed…"

Thorin stood behind her watching expressionless, as she greeted the tall Vampire, who immediately turned to bow in his direction also.

"And you must be Lord Thorin Oakenshield." Elrond smiled again. "You have your grandfathers bearing… I knew Lord Thror very well."

"Funny – he made no mention of you –"

"It's probably from a long time ago Thorin…" Shobha stepped back to his side, feeling a little nervous at how they suddenly found themselves in a lonely place, surrounded by a group of vampires, and Thorin was now insulting them!

"It was indeed my lady, although the memory of his kind hospitality is a good one, which I could never forget." Elrond replied graciously ignoring Thorin's insult. "Come let us take your bags and show you to your room… you and your fiancé must be very tired after your long journey. One thing that has not changed much despite all the 'modernisation' and technological improvements our world has undergone, is how long it takes to travel to our beautiful island here. It really never ceases to amaze me…"

…..

"He said we are free to take a walk around." Shobha complained as Thorin lay on the large sofa in their room. Elrond had assumed they were engaged and had given them a room with a romantic four post bed draped with soft mosquito netting. Thorin hadn't complained about it openly, maintaining the story that they were indeed engaged, but he had been careful to immediately lay on the sofa instead. Fortunately there was ample room on that giant bed, even if they wanted to sleep apart! "Stop moaning and enjoy this break! We have sun, sea… beautiful scenery –"

"We are here, for a task…"

"Yes but it can't be seen as the focus! You heard Gandalf! It has to be done tactfully!"

He swore under his breath again as he covered his face with a cushion.

"Well – I am going for a walk –" she was interrupted by a soft knock at the door. So tiptoeing across the marble floor she opened the door to reveal a tall, incredibly beautiful woman with long dark hair. "Oh! Hello…"

"Hello. Welcome to Imladris! I am Arwen – my father said you had lost your luggage?"

Shobha merely nodded looking up at their hosts' beautiful daughter.

"I am here to take you over to our dress maker..."

"Oh… okay –"

"Is it really necessary, my lady?" She was interrupted by a large, rough hand touching hers surprisingly softly, only to find Thorin standing very close behind. "After all, the flight staff indicated that your luggage will be found and returned…"

Shobha turned around to face Thorin, a look of irritation slowly spreading across her features.

"I have one dress, a pair of jeans - and it's too hot to wear jeans! I mean, I will have to sleep naked tonight!"

"Then let me come –" Thorin stepped closer whispering into her ear but she shook her head.

"This is kind of a girlie thing…"

"I do not trust them." He whispered back with a frown. "And besides which, you can wear one of my tunics at night – although it would suit equally if you were naked in bed…"

"Your fiancé will be in very safe hands, my Lord. There is no need to worry…" Arwen offered from where she stood at the door in an attempt to be helpful.

"Thorin – Gandalf trusts them, it'll be fine." Shobha leant into him this time, setting her hands on his chest before tiptoeing up to plant a gentle kiss on his lips. She watched him close his eyes as he instantly kissed her back without hesitation, and snaked his arms around her waist. Then she whispered back in his ear. "So… naked in bed huh…? You would love that wouldn't you…"

Suddenly, she found him pulling her in tighter against his large, broad frame, apparently forgetting or not caring that they had their host's daughter rather patiently and, frankly a little awkwardly, waiting outside their door.

And so, twisting herself free from his greedy grasp, she quickly moved to join Arwen, who couldn't help stifle an involuntary chuckle at how the Lord of Erebor stood there surprised at the woman's nimble escape.

"Please just take a rest – in fact have a nap!" She suggested, as his forehead creased with the beginnings of a frown. "I will be back in a bit –"

"My father thought you would both wish to rest and recuperate on your first night here, so he has arranged for your dinner to be brought to your room." Arwen smiled softly – it made her already beautiful face, practically glow! "But we hope you will join us for dinner tomorrow night…"

"Of course, Lady Arwen." Thorin tilted his head in acceptance. It was gracefully done, but clear to Shobha that he had merely given in, almost as though he had given in to the new reality that during their short stay here, for the sake of finding out information, he would have to suffer the hospitality of these peoples.

She too bowed her head again in response to him, before smiling at Shobha who was already waving at Thorin and apparently itching to get some clothes.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you…" she began to walk ahead, as Arwen shut the door before quickly joining her. "Hopefully I will get my lost luggage back soon –"

"Oh, my Lady… I fear you will see your luggage next only when you return back home." Arwen replied carefully, with a hesitant and careful tone.

"What?!" Shobha squeaked, part surprised and part annoyed. "I mean surely…"

"This is not unexpected, I'm afraid. Often when there are many connecting flights, a case or two sometimes get left behind…" the tall, pale woman walked alongside her, guiding her along the many open, marbled corridors at a leisurely pace. The pillars that held the stone roof were simply decorated and neatly spaced out, such that the walkways connecting the buildings were sheltered from sun and rain, but open on the sides to allow for breeze. The odd, creeper, or vine in bloom sometimes trailed off a pillar here and there, providing a pop of colour. "Unfortunately, the flight staff will complete the paperwork, but those bags never make their way to this end. I suspect it is simply too costly and complicated. So it is far easier, I imagine to simply send the luggage back to the passengers home address…"

Arwen gave Shobha a sidelong glance again, as she guided her towards another stone building.

"I am sorry." She finally offered Shobha. She sincerely felt bad for the woman. "I imagine you are quite disappointed..."

"Well…" Shobha pursed her lips and shrugged, attempting to look unphased. "These things happen… besides it's not your fault. You have nothing to apologise for."

"But I feel bad for you… Gandalf explained this would be like a honeymoon for you both. That you will most likely not get the chance to have a proper one when you get married…" Arwen explained again.

"Oh did he now…?" Shobha wondered what he meant by that.

Arwen then paused and seemed to observe Shobha carefully, almost as if scrutinising the air around her.

"If you don't mind my being too forward though… I believe you will have a honeymoon. Just not after your official marriage ceremony." She watched Shobha closely as her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "And I believe you will come back here…"

"Really…? I mean - it's gorgeous here…" Shobha smiled to herself as she carried on walking beside the tall, beautiful daughter of their host, but Arwen almost immediately stopped, he face growing quite serious.

"Lady Shobha –"

"Please just call me Shobha –"

"Shobha, I don't think you understand. What I mean to say is you and his Lordship will return here, only this time it will be all three of you!" Arwen smiled at what she was implying, but soon realised that her guest was still a little clueless to her predictions, and possibly a little distracted, and so she carried on. "No need to worry, I will make sure we do several absolutely beautiful outfits for you..."

…

She sat under the shade of a plumeria, at the edge of the powder white sand watching the ebb and flow of the crystal clear blue water.

It was a pleasant afternoon, having spent all morning trying on clothes and having them adjusted, she had returned to their room to find Thorin had showered and then begun to read a book in bed before drifting off to sleep.

So she had walked in to the sight of an almost fully nude Thorin, in his full muscular glory asleep on their bed. His hair lay strewn on the pillow, his handsome features entirely at rest as he snored softly and his arms lay flung out.

Unable to help herself, she had moved a little closer to look at him as he lay there like some sort of Bernini sculpture. His whole body was peppered with scars while his chest and arms were covered with tattoos. Some tattoos were clearly in runic text while others were simple patterns, markings or clan symbols. It had stirred her own desire, and she had almost got into bed, but fought the urge instead and decided to take a walk to clear her head.

As it turned out Imladris was a beautiful place with quite an agreeable climate compared to the rest of the island. It's many courtyard gardens, stone steps, trailing vines, pools with fountains, and waterfalls had been very easy to explore. But then she had worked her way out to the ocean.

It was a small stretch of pristine beach, isolated from the rest of the island by looming mountainous cliffs either side. It meant only those from Imladris could use the beach, unless it was reached by boat.

The ocean sparkled in the afternoon sun, as it changed from a deep blue in the horizon, through several shades from azure, to cerulean, to teal and then a paled turquoise, before the waters grew paler still as it foamed lightly upon gently lapping at the shore.

Tucking her knees up under her chin, she wrapped both arms around her legs tight, and breathed in the salty air. There was something about the ocean that she found soothing.

It felt therapeutic. She no longer felt broken.

"My lady…"

Shobha looked up to find Cole kneeling beside her.

"Oh goodness! You scared me!" She gasped.

"I sincerely apologise- but I wanted to assess these lands to ensure your safety." He looked up at the tree line beyond the beach. "This shoreline in particular is secluded, even those in Imladris don't appear to value this in the same way…"

"Oh. Well that's good…" she observed him carefully, noting his usual calm face. "So what's the deal with you? I mean, I have offered you freedom and yet you don't take it?"

"I have craved freedom for as long as I can recall. I never imagined I would be granted it," he paused, evidently thinking. "I am unsure about what I would do with this…"

"Oh gosh! If that's your only problem –"

"I also believe you are in danger, my lady."

"Oh."

"Perhaps not here. But in Erebor." He scanned the perimeter again before replying. "I am not of flesh and blood; I have no scent that can be detected. So I am best placed to watch over you."

Shobha smiled and nodded her head, grateful for his loyalty.

"Thank you."

They fell into silent thought for a while, as the Golem finally relaxed and sat on the sand beside her, both watching the gentle ebb and flow of the waves on the shore.

"I have never been this far from Erebor, in the many centuries I existed." The Golem stared out into the shimmering blue horizon. "The world we live in is a thing of great beauty indeed. I never dreamed it possible…"

She turned to look at his face and found his strange grey eyes taking everything in eagerly, although his features remained quite expressionless.

"You should travel and see the world, Cole. If my limited travels are anything to go by, I think you will really like it!" Shobha smiled. "Can I ask… are there more like you in Erebor?"

"Yes, my lady – at least there were. Magnificent, more powerful stone-men…" his tone was bittersweet, but his face could not match his emotion. "Even the Iron Hills has them, the tunnellers were enormous powerful beings, and so big – they could not stand up in the tunnels. Instead they lay down and worked. And tunnelled away, they did. Often in the most dangerous of conditions, where no machine was strong enough to do the job. Then there were those like us, who operated the pumps, or fetched the carts from within the tunnels. We would have to wheel out the large tunnellers sometimes when their task was complete. But many of them were lost; dug too deep, caved in, became lost tunnelling. Eventually many of us were lost or forgotten…"

They both fell silent, each imagining the fate of those Golems.

"Well… we have better tech now – we could find them…" she offered suddenly.

"I suspect they are happier as they are."

"Stuck…?" She pondered out loud.

"Resting." He corrected again with a sad tone that simply did not match his expressionless face.

She fell silent again, realising that these Golems had been treated almost likes slaves; 'bred' into service and used for nothing more. It made her wonder how Thorin might have treated Cole, had he assumed the role of master.

"Do you think our future actions are doomed to be shaped by our past mistakes?" She crunched her knees up tighter under her chin as she watched a larger wave roll in and lap at the white powder-sand. Although it was not such a large wave, she felt the finest spray reach her face this time, carried over by a gentle, salty breeze.

"I do not know, my lady. But I truly hope there are second chances out there, for all of us…" he replied quietly. "I cannot imagine there might exist a being in this vast world, who has never erred…"

She turned to look at him as he carefully observed her back with his grey eyes, that clearly hid so much more emotion than they revealed.

"In truth, I think that… if there is honesty about these mistakes; and good recognition of these too… it would be the greatest steps taken to prevent such mistakes in the future. And the start of rectifying what can be, and salvaging what is precious…"

They fell silent again, when the rustle of leave could be heard.

"My lady… "

She turned back to spot Thorin, trudging down the stone steps towards the beach, wearing a clearly irate expression.

"My lady! You have been gone a while…" he complained. "Your clothes have been delivered, and they mentioned that they will deliver supper shortly…"

"Oh! I was just…" she turned back to face Cole, but found he had vanished. It was like a magic trick – his disappearance practically into thin air such that she would have been entirely justified in questioning her sanity! "I… was just –"

"Running off to do whatever you felt like?" He grunted at her stopping at the very edge of the steps and scrutinising the sand in connection with the heavy boots he wore. "Come on! By the time you have rested, washed and dressed, supper will likely be cold. And I am starving!"

He stood there no longer attempting to hide his anger at her sluggishness to spring into action, as she slowly stood up and began to dust off the sand from her clothes.

"Starving… more like 'hangry'!" She muttered back as she walked across the scorching hot sand. "Hope they have a lot of food."

…

They both sat together quietly after dinner on the terrace directly above their suite watching the sun set in the distance. Elrond had indeed given them rooms with a breathtaking view!

Dinner had been simple but rather delicious and accompanied by a selection of delicious tropical fruit for desert.

Thorin had remained silent for a while since he had arrived on the beach to find her. She had arrived in their rooms to find a small selection of very beautiful clothes delivered: there were two summer dresses for daytime made of the softest linen, and two longer evening dresses made of the softest silk in bright pink and a bottle green, embellished with fine sequins in a pattern that gave it real shimmer each time the fabric moved.

And despite wondering what it was that seemed to drive the Ereborean Lord into such deep brooding, she had become quite comfortable with the silence between them, bearing no desire to fill it with mundane chatter.

"Was supper satisfactory for you, my lady?" He finally asked, despite having paid close attention to her throughout. Their wait staff had arrived with each course from time to time, and fussed about, but he had been the one to serve her at the table.

"It was delicious, thank you…" she replied quietly, although she had already said the same to the server who had brought their desert up on a tray before collecting their empty dishes from the main meal.

"I have been thinking a lot these days… about… us…" Thorin began again after a pause.

"Us…?" It slipped out of her before she could stop herself. She was unsure where this was going, part of her expected a break up speech, while other part wanted to scoff at the thought, since the most they had experienced was a physical relationship if any at all!

"Yes." He sighed appearing to understand her sentiments. "And I realise how things seem right now, and all this time I had been blaming you for the direction in which things moved, but I realise now that I too am accountable."

He paused again holding her gaze across the small table at which they sat. She seemed to lean in, a hand playing with her glass of water, as she had left her wine mostly in drunk.

"It has been a while since I have pursued a romantic relationship – a very long while, indeed, and I believed I would be there for you in whichever capacity it was that you desired. But I realise now that I was wrong to do that." He sighed. "You needed time, to trust – to love again, unreservedly. And I should have given you that. You, see I am not always good at being clear about how I feel or what I want when it comes to matters such as this…"

She was surprised at his admission given how arrogant he usually was. And so she remained silent, paying full attention to what else he had to say.

"I apologise if I have come across stifling – giving you orders as if you were mine. But I feel strongly about you. And my desire to protect you, overwhelms any other need. I also apologise if I have led you to think that I am happy to be there to merely service you, that was borne of fear that you would reject me, and a lack of faith in myself. But I will not make this mistake any longer." He seemed happy with what he had admitted, relaxing a little more visibly. "So, I need you to know that my heart solely belongs to you, and if you feel the same way, then I wish for you to allow me to court you. And if you do not feel the same way, then I am happy to wait until you do – instead of carrying on as we have been…"

He trailed off, this time hoping that she would step in. But she remained silent for a while, still watching him. He could see the candle flames decorating their table, flicker and dance, reflected in her big brown eyes, and it made his heartbeat quicken. He wondered what it would be like to make love her by nothing but candlelight, the soft glow all over her brown skin.

"Thank you for being so open with me… I know I needed someone to just hold me that first night we were back – but I was wrong to treat you like that. And I was cheating myself. I want to be all in, but part of me believed that you didn't – but you have been hot and cold about it with me, and keeping us secret –"

"And for that I was wrong too." He shook his head slowly, his deep sapphire eyes watching her, hoping that she understood his intentions. "I am trying to tell you that I only desire a full relationship with you, body, mind and soul – and nothing less."

"Well, I understand that now. And maybe the one thing that held me back from admitting the same to you was my own fear, after… well, Mike." This time she appeared to relax. "Today… sitting on that beach I felt completely free for the first time in a long while. But I too have realised that being over Mike isn't enough."

He suddenly stiffened up a little at that, clearly worried about what she had to say.

"No – What I mean is, in order to stop making the same mistakes – in order to make unfettered choices free from our past, we have to be honest. So I have a confession." She finally took a deep breath before continuing. "When I came to Erebor, maybe I wasn't entirely over Mike – we'll not Mike, but all that our relationship had stood for, and then after discovering that all my close friends knew what was going on… well, that was terrible! And something inside me blamed myself at first. But I feel free of all that. Because you can never trust that someone will be honest with you. But loving is about giving someone the chance to keep the trust that they have earned, and if they break that trust, well it's their bad."

He watched her, blinking a few times as he took in all that she had to say.

"So… I think we are finally on the same page, Thorin…" she smiled softly at him. "If we are going to do this, then, there can be no secrets."

He thought about it for a moment.

"And yes, that means, I don't care if it involves danger. Because it's worse, if I feel that you have kept something big from me…"

He sat quietly thinking about what she had said again before speaking.

"In the spirit of being honest, I too will confess that my own past has held me back before… the only time I ever loved before you was as a younger man. At least I thought I loved, but we were so young then, just barely come of age…" he admitted. "Marina… She was a girl from the Iron Hills, although she was an outsider, who was adopted by Lord Errol… my parents at first were hesitant, believing she was too much of a distraction, and maybe they were right. We spent ever second of free time together, until I had to go away for university. I asked her to come with me…"

"And what happened…?" She sat nodding, surprised he had been so honest.

"She refused." He himself still seemed surprised at the sudden turn of events. "I asked to join me, to study, travel the world, to start our lives together… but she believed I was running away – had little ambition. She wanted me to stay and begin training to take over from my father and grandfather. And of course, I had no desire to do this, so after I left Erebor, I never heard from her again — well until once close to my graduation… when she visited me again. We talked had dinner… and ended up sleeping together, but after I told her I had no change of heart, she simply left."

"So what happened to her?"

"She married my cousin Dain. And I never heard from her, but then soon after they had their baby, she disappeared after going for a walk – everyone searched for a while, but found nothing… I never understood it, as I know she is a strong woman…" he sadly shook his head again. "I think Dain still blames me a little… I think I blame myself too. But now that you know… if you think you can still have me –"

"Thorin… It will take more than having a past to put me off!" She smiled. "So do you think she just upped and left?"

"It's a mystery, but I do not believe she is dead."

"As sad as I feel about that poor woman – it doesn't change a thing about how I feel." She smiled. "In fact I love you more for being honest with me…"

Without any further hesitation he stood up from his seat, and was by her side in seconds, just as she too had stood from her seat, and pulling her into his arms, pressing her against his body, he lowered his face to claim her lips.

His broad, rock hard body made her insides flip in ways that she had never felt before. Forget butterflies, this was more like a whole troupe performing the 'cirque du soleil' inside her!

As he pulled her in closer, wrapping his arms greedily around her little waist, their kiss deepening, her hands moved up from his chest and neck to bury themselves in his wavy hair. It was as if they were both finally free.

…..

Dear All,

Thank you for following so far – there you have it. At last, they are finally there! Not long left now to the end…

Please keep posting your thoughts and comments – you keep me going xx

Special thank you to Luinwen – Myra is indeed very disinhibited to say the least, but I think she is one of those chicks that doesn't mince her words, and however crass it may be will call it for what it is. I think it def gave Thorin a harsh dose of reality lol! Poor Shobha though right?! I have to say these two do irritate me – neither Thorin nor Shobha are being open about things, and that is making everything a complete mess. At least they are now on the same page.