Chapter Ten
Thorin studied the raven that had the Durin seal around its neck, it flapped it wings in annoyance for the fifth time before he reached over and took out the small note attached to its leg. The raven saw itself out. Crown prince Thorin was never one to fret to much over a note sent from home, but the note was clearly from his brother. Narrowing his eyes at the note that laid a top of his too large bed, he contemplated whether to open it or not. Curiosity won over, he reached over and gingerly pried open the seal. Before his eyes could scan the note his door was burst open and in came the very person he did not want to deal with. Aside from the Elves this creature he had no patience for. "You cannot leave! I refuse to leave him behind!"
"Hmpf, a prince with no manners." The hobbit spluttered before sending his own retort, "I do have manners, I knocked ten times-"
"And because I didn't answer you thought to walk in?" Thorin studied the halfling, it amused him how easy it was to ruffle his feathers. His smirk only caused the hobbit more trouble.
"Enough, I didn't come here to talk about manners-"
"What do you want?" Oh, he knew what the hobbit wanted, he wanted more time for his guard to heal. Thorin could have easily gotten to the point, yet he wanted to drag things out.
"Would you stop cutting me off every time I speak." Bilbo huffed in annoyance, the scowl Thorin threw at him made him recall why he was there in the first place.
"We are not leaving until L'vren is capable of moving." Thorin's eye twitched at the stubborn halfling, he looked around at the spacious room, natural light filtered in and for once he wished to be back home under the protection of the mountain. Inhaling and then exhaling Thorin sent the hobbit his best glare that was being challenged back, "Five more days and that's it. If he doesn't get well we leave without him."
"That is not fai-"
"Accept! Or I'll make it three." Bilbo had no choice, five days was at least better than three, hopefully enough time for L'vren to get ready for their journey. "Very well, thank you."
Thorin watched the halfling again, that was all he seemed to do nowadays, his eyes following each and everyone of his movements since the very first day. Mentally cursing himself, he caught the hobbit staring at the letter that was in his hands. Thorin raised an eyebrow, " If you think this is for you, think again. Frerin is not one to send letters." It was a lie, partially, his brother never was one to send things so it was a surprise.
"I would never assume." The fiery passion he saw before was now gone, the hobbit deflated but he kept a strong front. Thorin was impressed but annoyed at the same time. Why did this hobbit want to go through an arranged marriage? He knew about the contract but it still baffled him how the halfling fell for his brother without even interacting with him. He should not be judging, he was in the same predicament as well.
"You should leave." Voice cold and devoid of emotion, his stoney blue eyes regarded Bilbo one last time. Thorin remembered those words Bilbo uttered the day he was rescued, it shouldn't have affected him the way they did but they had. Why was his body reacting such a way? He needed to have better self control.
"I've been in your presence longer than you should allow." He knew his words would cut deep, if the halfling didn't want to be around him, it was only logical to remind him of it. Thorin turned back to the letter, he didn't need to look up to know the halfling was gone, the door closed with a soft thud.
Throwing the letter on the bed, Thorin looked at the door then made a decision. No, he wasn't going to look for the hobbit, he needed time to think and calm his anger. Walking would do just the trick. Thorin stepped out of his chambers, the letter long forgotten. Although he hated the Elves he recognized they were different from Thranduil's kin, more friendly. Thorin almost laughed at his own thoughts, he walked around observing his own kin do the same. Gloin was sparring with Dwalin while Ori watched them. He managed to spot his two nephews causing mayhem, a few elven guards trying to catch them. He should really put a stop to those two but he didn't have the heart to do so, they were the future of the Durin line. His excuse was that they were young, they were to enjoy their adolescence before duties were placed on their shoulders.
The sun slowly descended further into the horizon, the moon rose high in the sky ready to light up the darkness. Thorin watched as lanterns were lit all over the place, it fascinated him. Since a young dwarrow he wanted to know all about the Elves and all the creatures that inhabited middle earth, being the crown prince allowed him to learn everything but seeing it up close brought his inner child back. The air was fresh and clean, Thorin paused for a moment to let the sounds of middle earth circle around him. He opened his eyes at a voice right below him, moving over the stone rail, he looked down and saw Bilbo accompanied by a female Elf.
"I don't know what to do. I'm drawn to them…"
"Not just them, but to him."
Bilbo looked up at those pale blue eyes that regarded him with warmth, he looked away ashamed at the truth she spoke.
"I was betrayed…and yet-"
"You care too deep" The high Elf kneeled beside Bilbo, her gown flowing gracefully with her movements. "Do you mind putting that crown on me?" Her eyes sparkled as she made a motion with her head, Bilbo followed her gaze and looked down at the flower crown he was making before he got interrupted by Galadriel. Crown making distracted him from thinking about L'vren and a certain dwarrow.
"Oh, um...sure." Galadriel didn't move as Bilbo got to his feet and gently placed the crown. The hobbit took a step back admiring his artwork, he loved the way her long platinum blonde hair blended perfectly with the pale blues and violets of the flowers.
His mood instantly turned sour, his talk with Galadriel made him realize some things, things that he would rather not go into. He needed to remember why he was doing things, why he needed to carry the weight of his people.
"Your words are wise, but I cannot."
Thorin couldn't hear what was going down below him, but those chosen words piqued his interest. What were they talking about? Thorin leaned closer, he caught a few words here and there but he could decipher them. After a few minutes he gave up listening, he was about to turn back around until he heard his name.
"Thorin has made everything worse for me. His treatment, his indifference to anything I do or say. He's not someone meant to love."
Thorin stumbled backwards, his eyes trying to focus on his surroundings instead of the halfling below him that rambled on and on about him, the words were inaudible but he had heard enough. It was clear what his position would always be, he needed to remind himself that he would never have what he wanted. He was a prince, a future king, his role in life was to lead...not pursue things that weren't meant for him. Not one look back below him, Thorin turned back around. His mood already worse than before. He had on last decision to make before he backed out of it. He would show the hobbit exactly who he was, a prince not meant for love. Reason tried to win over, thoughts swirled around him making him irritated at what his mind conjured. He's not meant to love, for a moment Thorin closed his eyes trying to take his mind off of those words but they just came back over and over again.
Thorin's feet wanted to carry him back to where the halfling was, he suppressed the feeling before he did something stupid. Fingertips dug into the stone wall that the dwarrow had not even noticed he was leaning against, straightening his back and composing himself as best as possible he briskly walked away from the area and his thoughts, he would think upon them when he was in private right now his attention was on L'vren.
The walk to the medical bay wasn't as hard to find as Thorin thought it would be, the elven guards made sure he took the correct turns, he was grateful for that. The walk made things worse, he could still hear those words echo inside his head, the way the hobbit looked as his the words left his lips. Shoving all those thoughts away he tried concentrating at his destination which was a few feet away from him.
Not even caring to give a knock, the crown prince burst through the door and made his way towards Oin, his eyes glanced at the hobbits guard whom stared right back. "We are to leave in three days time. Get anything you need from the Elves." Thorin ordered.
"Have there been any changes?" Thorin asked as he approached the medical elf, the elven spared one glance before answering.
"If you're thinking of leaving, then you must know he will not be ready. His injuries were deeper than we anticipated," The medic elf combined two plants before mixing them together, " his recovery will be slow, even with our medicine." She placed the mixture onto the guards naked torso, L'vren flinched at the contact. After bandaging the area, the female elf left without a word, Oin followed.
"Take him to the mountain." L'vren spoke up. The silence was unnerving that Thorin was glad to have something to do.
"You're not protesting to this," The dwarrow raised a dark eyebrow at the royal guard, "Why?"
"If you take me with you, I will only slow everyone down. It is my duty as royal guard to always protect my prince, how I am-in this state...I will only make things worse. Don't tell him it was my decision or else he's going to try to convince me to come along. Leave in two days instead."
Seemed like everything he was about to plan fell right into place without too much planning and thinking, the guard made everything easier for Thorin." Very well, by now Oin will be spreading the news, the halfling will know soon enough."
"He will hate you, Thorin."
"I know." It would be better this way, to be hated. "Why do you care?" Thorin did not know much about the guard, just the basic detail. Being the son of the former general and raised along side hobbits, he knew where his loyalty laid. L'vren had the audacity to smirk, his eyes sparkling with unknown knowledge.
"I see the way you look at him. Keep it to yourself." The last part was spoken with such venom, Thorin had a brief moment of shock. "Whatever you feel for him must stop."
"You are no one to tell me what to do, guard."
"Yet you stand here knowing he will hate you after...don't ruin this for Bilbo. Do not stand in his way."
"You know nothing about my feelings. I'm not doing because you demanded, I'm doing this for me and only me." Thorin never elaborated further, he growled in frustration before stalking away leaving L'vren with a thoughtful expression.
Two days gave the prince enough time to prepare for the journey, Oin made sure to tell everyone about the new plans. Thorin ignored the looks that were thrown his way, Fili tried getting his attention on the matter but was quickly shot down with a glare. Not even the wizard Gandalf could get through the dwarrow. "Now Thorin, you cannot begin packing knowing L'vren has yet to recover! Bilbo will be furious."
"Let him, he will follow either way."
"What has become of you. Listen to reason." Thorin paused mid packing, he stood his ground and looked up at the wizard, everyone around them stopped as well ready to hear what their Prince finally had to say. Gandalf waited patiently.
"You vile creature! You said five days, you dare go back on your word." The company expected this, they knew their new addition would soon show up. Dwalin didn't even bother moving beside his prince. He did notice Ori scoot a little closer to him.
Not wanting to deal with the halfling, Thorin ignored him and continued packing, the company couldn't believe their eyes. Bilbo stood frozen in shock, his body shook with unfiltered anger as he was not shown one ounce of respect. How dare he! "You will show me respect, prince Thorin." No one saw what came next. One second Bilbo stood at the entrance and the next he had a handful of Thorin's collar, he pulled. Thorin lost his balance and fell backwards, his blue eyes clashed with Bilbo's green before his instincts kicked in. Using his right hand to stop himself he used the momentum and pushed himself up. He didn't have to time to recover before his back hit a hard object. A burst of air left his lungs. "We will wait until he recovers!"
Thorin was impressed. He couldn't keep a smile from forming, he saw the exact moment the halfling reacted to it. Using that time as a distraction he hooked his left foot around the hobbits ankle with one move the hobbit was falling backwards, his grip never faltered as Thorin was soon falling too. Bilbo let out a gasp, Thorin stood atop of him with his arms on either side of his head, Bilbo own hands rested gently on Thorin's chest. All of the hobbits attention were settled on the dwarrows lips that were so close to his, he let out a shuddering breath as his heart skipped a beat. His actions got Thorin's attention. Those blue orbs took in Bilbo's features, the hobbit felt heat rise from his neck all the way to his forehead. It only worsened as Thorin moved closer bringing their bodies closer. With a squeak Bilbo shut his eyes then turned his head to the side waiting for something to happen. In a low raspy voice Thorin whispered in Bilbo's ear, "Do something like that again, hobbit and you'll regret it. Now, start packing- we leave in two days." A chill ran down his spine, Bilbo almost wanted to pull the dwarrow back down at feeling the cold breeze lap at his skin after Thorin stood up from their position. Clearly he had no say in the matter, just this once Bilbo listened. Standing up he sent his best glare at the prince before walking away. Oh, if Thorin believed he was just going to sit and follow his orders, he was wrong.
Author's note: Well, I have been away for far too long, I apologize. I hope that this chapter was enough to fill for my lack of updating, dont worry guys! I have not given up on this fic- I will see it through the end, hopefully you guys are still here with me? I will try update as soon as possible. Till next update, adios.
