Chapter Forty-Seven

The Chinks in the King's Armour

Nori was more than a tad amused by his reception to the rest of his company. Upon the moment they saw him walking side by side with Thorin they had all but tackled him, all demanding answers about their burglar.

Where had he found her? Had she been badly mistreated – Nori was half tempted to say yes, she had been, if only for an excuse to beat the still smug grin that was for some reason still decorating the face of Bovin son Brovin's to a bloody pulp. It unnerved him just how calm the traitorous dwarf was about his and his company's capture and it was something that he would very much like to look into, now that Bilbo was no longer solely in his care. Just as he had promised, for the whole trip to Erebor he had not left her side for a moment, even while she slept. Now that she had others to look after her, he was determined to get to the bottom of this terrible mess – and other questions along those lines.

He answered them to the best of his ability knowing that only by seeing Bilbo fully awake and happy would reassure his old company that their burglar was alright… or at least on the mend.

"Right, well now that I've answered your questions," He said and he tried not show just how eager he was about the next thing he asked, "there is someone I would very much like to meet."

He was amused when all of his company seemed know exactly who he meant without him even needing to ask.

They lead him to the royal guest rooms, where he had already known the hobbits were kept, Dori knocking politely on the door.

It was opened by a golden brown haired hobbit who looked up with a surprisingly wide and welcoming grin.

"If they're dwarves don't let them in." Bellowed a thoroughly annoyed and fed up voice from deep within the guest chambers.

The golden brown haired hobbit rolled his eyes good-naturedly at them before shouting over his shoulder, "We're currently residing in a mountain full of dwarves! Of course they're dwarves! Who else would it be?"

"Do keep up Lotho." Added another voice and the golden brown haired hobbit was joined by another hobbit, this one with golden curls, who gave the company an equally wide and welcoming smile as the lad beside him.

"Good morning." The first hobbit said before looking in confusion at his fellow hobbit, "or is it afternoon? Can't tell now, what with being underground for so long." The lad shrugged, "either way please, come in." and with that the two hobbits politely stood out of their way. As the company filed into the guest chambers, the two hobbits darted back to the table they had obviously been sitting at, playing chess, from the looks of it. There was a loud huffing noise as one hobbit with dark chestnut locks stalked into the sleeping area.

"Don't mind him; he's just in a foul mood." The golden hair hobbit offered his eyes apologetic.

"Not that he isn't always. But in this case, he's simply woken up on the wrong side of the bed." The other Halfling added and the two gave each other amused smirks.

"only-only," Nori looked towards the fire where a very, very old hobbit was sitting in arm chair, his face twisted in what might have been a look of disapproval on any other face but a hobbits, "because you-you both tipped his bed – bed over and – and poured the-the water jug over him." The two hobbits snickered for a moment before forcing themselves to appear serious

"Yes… well, he was saying that he needed a bath." The two hobbit sniggered while the older hobbit rolled his eyes before giving the company a small nod of welcome before settling back into his chair with his book.

It was then, when Nori looked to the floor beside the old Halfling that he saw Bilbo's lad. The little lad was entirely in his own little world, completely ignoring what was happening around him, focusing solely on the pieces of paper in front of him, happily drawing away – much like Ori had done when he was a small lad and ignoring his continuously arguing brothers – on a small table, that was littered with the odd book or painted wooden toy.

"Hello Frodo." Kili said striding forward to crouch by the little lad, who looked up at him with a blink of surprise, blushing slightly underneath some yellowing bruise, clearly a tad embarrassed at having been caught by surprise.

"Hello." Lad had a wide smile, much like Kili's and eyes that danced with happiness and joy. They were his father's eyes but the merriment and acceptance within them were definitely inherited from his mother. Bright eyes that had immediately zoned in on him, growing all the brighter with curiosity and – and this was very surprisingly indeed – recognition. As proven by the lad's next words.

"I know you." The boy cried, before chewing on his bottom lip – which was such a Bilbo thing Nori was hard pressed not to laugh – thinking hard, "or at least, I've seen you before."

"Oh," Nori asked in teasing tone, "and where might you have possibly seen me?"

"Around the Shire." The boy said simply with a shrug, "Mama never does, but I have. You usually lurk in the shadows. I tried waving to you once but a cart went in front of me and then you were gone."

"NORI?!" he watched in amusement as the hobbits in the room jumped and the one who had sulked into the bedchambers, stuck his head out the doorway, peering out at them with a frown.

"You – you knew..." Dori was stuttering, "You knew about the lad?"

"Oh yes," Nori with an amused air about him that he knew only irritated his brother all the more, "for years. Not as long as Ori, Kili, Bofur and Bifur have known, of course, but I've known for quite some time. And you're right," Nori said turning back to Frodo with a smile grin, "you did see me. First person to see me when I've wanted to remain unseen. You have very sharp eyes." The boy blushed with pleasure and grinned shyly at him.

"I'm Nori, by the way." He said with a small bow and the little boy giggled.

"Yes, I, um, guessed from the cry of your name. Also you're the only one of Mama's dwarves that I had met, so it wasn't too hard to figure out who you were."

"Observant aren't you. Or are you simply cheeky?"

"Mama says that I'm both." Frodo grinned good-naturedly back. Yes, most definitely his mother through and through, with some hints of Fili and Kili thrown in there too. Really, it seemed that all Frodo had inherited from Thorin was his black hair (which was a curly as any of the other hobbits in the room) and his sapphire blue eyes (only his were merry while Thorin's were almost always in a constant state of solemnness).

He grinned as he reached and tweaked Frodo's button nose.

"You have your mother's nose." The boy blushed while the rest of his company looked from Nori to Frodo in amusement.

"Thank you?" Frodo asked and Nori winked at him.

Nori wished that he could have stayed longer getting to know Bilbo's lad but there was work to be done, so much sooner than he would have liked he was marching out of the guest chambers with Thorin, Fili, Balin and Dwalin, heading in the direction of the dungeons.

TMPoT

Bovin was in one of deepest, darkest, most miserable of all prison cells that Erebor had to offer and the bastard was whistling. Whistling of all things! Nori wondered how long the whistling would last once Thorin got his hands on him. Nori himself had been fighting to keep himself from murdering the dwarf the whole way to Erebor and now, now there was nothing really stopping him from making his wish come true… except, maybe, for his King. His king who wanted answers and could quite possibly beat him to the punch with the whole murdering Bovin plan.

Bovin didn't appear to be the least bit surprised when he saw them and half dozen guards coming to stand outside his cell. In fact, it seemed to only amuse him further.

"Well this is a very merry gathering, indeed." He greeted them with a wave and bright smile that had a sadistic edge to it.

"Are you mentally deranged? Or simply too blind with arrogance to realise how dire your situation is?" Nori couldn't help himself but grate out.

Bovin looked at him, his eyes glinting in the dim light from where he sat on his threadbare pallet.

"I was only trying to be polite towards our king under the mountain." He stood up and gave Thorin a small bow but it, like his words, was nothing more than mockery.

Thorin didn't even blink. During his and his kin's exile this kind of mockery was commonplace.

"I don't care for your manners or formality, I only care for…"

"What information I might have in regards to your little Halfling? Yes, I figured out that much myself. Otherwise," he started picking at his fingernails as he spoke, "you wouldn't be keeping me alive in these truly admirable conditions." He gestured to his dripping ceiling and almost frosty stone walls and bars.

"Damn straight." Dwalin snarled.

"You have information now…"

"It's amazing," Bovin interrupted Thorin again, "how someone so tiny can instil so much loyalty and a desire to protect. Even members of my own… company, I suppose you could call them, were drawn to her."

"She has that affect, more than I can say for you." Balin replied tiredly.

"That's because," Bovin smirked, "I am not a weakness, a chink in the armour. She is going to be your down fall, mark my words."

"And that means what, exactly?" Thorin asked slowly, careful to control his temper and his desire to beat Bovin bloody. Nori could feel Fili trembling with barely contained fury beside him.

Bovin simply shook his head.

"It would be best for you if you revealed yours and Bzog plans." Balin said softly.

"Oh?" Bovin raised eyebrows, "so you know of Bzog?"

"Aye, that we do." Balin continued, "We also know that Bzog charged you with the delivery of Bilbo to him. Why?"

"Revenge. She denied his father his rightful trophy of his highness head and helped to bring about his untimely demise."

"Untimely?" Fili snarled. "His untimely demise?"

"Fili." Thorin warned quietly. He turned back to Bovin, "Revenge?"

"Yes," Bovin said, "and we were to bring her to him alive and unspoilt. He didn't say much more than that."

"And you were just happy to take an innocent person to orc, fully aware of what fate would be awaiting her." Nori snarled.

"She was a job. He was offering good money. Why pass up…"

SMACK!

"Thorin!" Balin sighed while Dwalin, Nori and Fili grinned. Thorin shook his throbbing fist as Bovin sat up off the bottom of the dungeon, spitting and choking on his blood.

"I would have also gotten good money for the little brat. Another Son of Durin to add to…"

SMACK!

"I would stop talking like that, if I were you," Dwalin snorted as Thorin withdrew his fist again and Bovin staggered backwards on to his pallet.

"This is getting us nowhere." Balin sighed, shooting Thorin a thoroughly exasperated look. "Thorin. Maybe it would be wise for you to sit this one out."

Thorin returned Balin's look with one of his own, before glancing down at his bloody fist.

"Fili." Fili turned his glaring eyes from Bovin to glance over at Thorin who jerked his head from the direction they had come into the dungeons.

"Right." Fili nodded and strode to his uncle's side.

"You think that they are safe, Thorin Oakenshield. Safe here, within your mountain." Bovin jeered from his cell. "They'll never be safe, not while they live. Bzog will never stop hunting for her and by now he will know of the mongrel bastard that she bore you and he will be after him as well. He won't stop, not ever, not until he has both their heads on spikes. And there will be nothing you will be able to do to stop him."

"I killed his father," Thorin snarled without looking back the miserable excuse of vermin behind him, "I saw his brother being crushed by a skin-changer. I will see his death before he lays so much as a finger on either of them, that," he looked back at Bovin who was watching him with gleaming eyes from a bloody face, "you can mark my words on." And with that the King and his heir stormed out the dungeons, leaving Bovin alone to the questioning of Balin, Dwalin and Nori.

No torture would be enforced yet and hopefully, there would be no need for it. Even though Bovin deserved all manner of the worst kind of tortures that Thorin could think of, Thorin was not that type of King. Or rather, he refused to be that kind of king.

Oh yes, he allowed for Dwalin and Nori to show off their rather impressive collection of knives during an interrogation but he rarely, hardly ever allowed them to use them. And when they did use them, it was only to cut off beards and braid. A terrible kind of torture in and of itself, but no blood was spilt, only the destruction of one's dignity and honour.

But that, even the loss of his beard and braids didn't seem punishment enough for Bovin. Nor did locking him up until the end of his days. Thorin wanted him in pain, wanted to draw it out and make Bovin suffer and that… that scared him.

The last time he had felt such emotions had been when Azog the Defiler was still alive and there was a fair distance between the desire of torturing an orc to the torturing of one of your own species, no matter how repulsive and sadistic they were.

But really, in the end, it wasn't up to him. By dwarven laws, it was the one who had suffered the greatest offence who chose the punishment for the crime. If Bilbo asked for torture, than tortured Bovin and his company would be. If she asked for their heads to be mounted on spikes and those said spikes were to be station all over the side of the mountain, then it would be done. Yes, there would be a good many protests, but overall, within reason, whatever she asked to happen to Bovin and his company, would happen to them.

Only Thorin was silently hoping that she asked for none of those things or any of the other things his mind had thought up as fitting punishments for Bovin and co. The thought of her asking for things, and she had every right to, made him feel sick because she was never meant to ask for them. She was their sweet, gentle lass who had shied away from fights, who had been violently sick after killing her first orc.

Yes, she had every right to wish all manner of revenge upon Bovin and his company, but Thorin prayed that she would not. For the sake of her soul; her innocent and pure spirit. He wanted what was left of that innocence and purity to remain as untainted as possible. He knew that if she were to ask for their torture, for their deaths, that later, maybe not right away, the guilt would find her. And it would consume her until it finally destroyed her. And he would not have that; no he refused to allow for that to happen, for her to allow for that to happen to her. Something would be done to Bovin and his company, mark his words, but not by her hands. Her hands would not be tainted by their blood.

Thorin sighed and pressed his fingers to his temple, fighting to keep Bovin's words from consuming him with terror. They would find Bzog before any more harm came to Billanna and Frodo and they would have his head mounted on stick outside of Erebor, to warn all other orcs and goblins that Erebor and her king were not to be trifled with.

Smirking, he and Fili returned to the upper levels of the mountain, immediately dragged into mind-numbing council meetings about trade, mining and construction.

Author's Note: Not much really to say about this chapter apart from the obvious of Bovin is an rshole, Thorin's over-protectiveness is seriously being kicked into over-drive - not that he'll allow either Frodo or Bilbo to see that - hobbits are cheeky and Bilbo still isn't awake and we still don't have her having any kind of moment with Thorin. I feel kind of bad now, like whenever I get a review from a new reader and their reviewing some of the early, early chapters and they're all squealing over how cute baby!Frodo is (remember when he was a tiny little baby? I don't) and how they love this and that. And then at the end of the review their like, 'I hope we don't have to wait too long for the Thorin/Bilbo romance' or 'Thorin will be coming to the Shire soon, right?' or and stuff like that and I just sit back in my chair, torn between laughing and feeling bad because I know just how many chapters there is for Thorin and Bilbo to have a scene together. And I know the romance factor will happen... eventually, I just haven't written it yet. But yeah, I just can't help but think 'you poor suckers' whenever I read a review from a new reader... and then I never hear from them again, so I don't know if they've quit while their ahead or they've read all the way to the last chapter and are now simply waiting for me to finally post some thing resembling Bagginshields... Don't worry, I'm waiting too. Trust me, I can not wait to write Bagginshield.