She writhed under his lips. It was a combination of the sensations and the anticipation.
He had stripped her, tearing yet another dress open quickly and mercilessly before binding her wrists with his belt above her head and securing it somehow to the head of their bed. The efficiency with which he had executed it all had been too great for it to be a first time.
And once she lay bound and tied on the bed, he had blindfolded her using his shirt.
It meant that she had become aware of every sound, touch or smell. She was surrounded by him: his touch, his taste and his scent.
First he had begun by kissing her as she lay there, helpless, and then as he chose to explore her body, the kisses had turned into a combination of kisses and bites.
Finally, after teasing her body, for an agonizingly long time, he had brought her to climax.
That is when he had taken what he wanted from her body, releasing her ties to the bed, but still keeping her wrists bound.
First he had made her thoroughly taste him, watching as she took him in her mouth, blindfolded and wrists bound. There had been something about her vulnerability in that which he had enjoyed. Then he had finally buried himself in her with a desperation and wild abandon that had shaken her to the core.
It had been much more pleasurable that she had expected, and he too had enjoyed watching her come undone. But neither had given in too easily or forgotten the wrongs.
And so despite all his pleasurable teasing, he had repeatedly brought her to the brink, only to stop completely.
It had been such frustrating torture and precisely what he wished her to feel, after she had left him for a few days - a fair exchange in his eyes.
And when she had fallen asleep at last, after being so completely spent, she had awoken to an empty bed.
He had left her in the morning entirely naked without even a sheet to cover her and her wrists still bound. And although she had been able to stand and move about she had not been able to release her own ties.
She had been fortunate that Dori had paid her a visit, or she would have been forced to call upon one of her guards (which would have been very embarrassing indeed - and likely what Thorin had intended).
The flamboyant and well mannered dwarf had fortunately been nonjudgemental about her using nothing but a blanket to cover her modesty and having him cut her wrists out of extremely tight bindings.
And so after she had dressed and arranged some preparations for the upcoming nine night celebration with Dori she had marched to the dams school.
She had taken her two guards, and Mara.
They all stood outside the large doors that had been sealed with enormous wooden batons.
"I want these opened." She commanded the guards.
They looked at her terrified at first, clearly worried to go against the word of the King.
So she had taken a heavy axe from one of the guards and dragged it to the doors.
"I am not sure we should do this, my dear." Even Mara was worried.
But after last night's humiliating sensual frustration, and having to suck on his member, until she gagged, only to be called a 'good girl' (not to mention being left bound in the morning and unable to get undone) she was determined to reopen her school!
"It is all on me."
She grabbed the axe handle and swung it as hard as she could, watching it crash against the wood.
The first strike barely landed against the baton. But as her arms got used to the weight and swing of the axe, she had shattered and splintered at least two of the large batons that barred the doors.
By this time, she had accumulated a small audience, and her clothes and hair were all disheveled.
"Would you like some assistance, my lady?"
A voice from behind her stopped her just before she was about to take another swing.
Turning around she found, Lord Erol preparing himself. He was removing his coat, and rolling up his shirt sleeves as though readying himself for hard labour.
"If you take part, then you too shall have to face the wrath of the King, Lord Erol. I am not sure I could live with such consequences on my conscience," she huffed, before turning back to swing the axe again. It struck the door this time, shattering the ornately carved wood.
But then before she could swing the axe again, he stopped her, with him placing his hand over hers. It was strong and large, not unlike Thorin's, but his skin was much rougher.
"Any consequences I face are my responsibility alone, my lady, for I support your school on behalf of my own sister." He concluded taking the axe from her and swinging it. He was perhaps very slightly shorter than her, but he was clearly strong, for with three further strikes he had cut down the remaining batons, as if they were nothing but firewood. "And would you like the doors opened, my lady?"
"Of course she does laddie!"
This time, Dwalin had arrived to join the group.
"And if ye know what's good for ye, then better let me do the rest lad!" Dwalin stepped forward this time, and kicked at the doors a few times, only to then stand back and watch them give way. "His highness is on his way.
"Lord Dwalin, I am no coward and will gladly accept responsibility for my assistance." Erol chuckled, patting Dwalin on the back. "But I am not sure I would have managed to open the doors with such style."
"Ach thank ya laddie." Dwalin grinned. "Well, my lady, your school is open..."
She walked in and had a look around. Fortunately nothing inside had been destroyed.
"You should know that you have support amongst a group of us...?" Erol spoke quietly to her as he came to stand beside her. "Not just with the school but also with other endeavours..."
She gave him a sidelong glance.
"Look lad, I don't know what ye mean-" Dwalin cut in, apparently not entirely trusting the young dwarf. "But if ye're looking to become the Queens lover, then the lass is not interested -"
"Its fine Dwalin. If you truly are a supporter, then I wish to know who else is a supporter." She quietly replied.
The sound of more footsteps out in the corridor, made the small crowd gathered to part, allowing a group of soldiers to come forward, clearing the way for Thorin.
"Well...this is most impressive, my lady," Thorin looked around, examining the door before coming over to stand with the three of them. "And I hear much by your own hand...even after last night?"
Thorin took time to inspect her wrists, where the leather had bit into her skin, drawing attention from both others to the fact that he had clearly bound her wrists, by making a point to inspect them, before looking up into her face satisfied to see the flush of embarrassment registered there.
This little display seemed to catch the attention of both Dwalin and Erol who couldn't help but stare at her tiny wrists, with some element of curiosity as well as surprise.
Satisfied with the effects of his display on both dwarves, he turned his focus on them further.
"Lord Erol? And Dwalin, my dear friend, please do not tell me that you are also involved in this...?"
"My King," Erol bowed his head, while Dwalin remained silent.
"I shall forgive you both on this occasion as having been led astray by my consort. But you will face greater consequences should you find yourself involved with my wife's ill-considered ideations hereafter." It was a warning to the dwarves before he finally turned to her. "It will be upon my final decision when the school re-opens, my lady..."
And then he turned to leave again.
But after all the humiliation she had been subject to by him, she was now adamant more than ever to have her way with the school.
So, waiting for him to begin walking back through the crowd, she rushed to him, catching up and falling to her knees, at his feet.
If he wanted a display of sorts, then she too was willing to play that game.
"Please my Lord, these lasses do so love their lessons, and you are such a compassionate, generous and kind King," she sobbed loudly looking up at him, from her knees and clutching his trousers, dangerously close to his crotch. "Please do not punish these girls and dams for my error as a new wife..."
It was ironic how she had been in this very position only just last night with a blind fold on and her wrists bound!
It was too much for him. He could feel himself growing aroused very quickly, and soon the crowd would notice also!
Instinctively, he rested a hand on her head, before he attempted to pick her from where she looked up begging in front of the whole crowd.
She had also chosen a dress with a deep neckline in case of this very reason, he imagined.
And she watched as he was unable to help his gaze drifting down to admire his view.
The crowd too appeared to be highly taken by her display of humility, sighing and some of the witnessing nobility even shedding tears openly.
He too had noted this. And so raising his hands he quietened the group and took her hand, picking her up off the floor.
"My wife, your pleas touch the very depths of my heart..." He began by addressing the crowd loudly, before turning to whisper the last few words in just her ear. "And my hardening cock..."
He waved his hands again as the crowd responded to his first words.
"And so I shall grant you this school open once more," he announced grandly as the crowd cheered, before he turned to his wife and whispered. "Well played, my little vixen...I did not know you had it within you to engage in such games. Then, I look forward to seeing you in my study before the hour is passed, since you so desperately wish to suck my cock again you can finish what you started...and wear that dress."
But when they both pulled away from each other, the crowd had begun to shout at them requesting a kiss for their King. It had very quickly built into a chant.
Thorin who obviously enjoyed the attention, grabbed her waist and pulled her in for a kiss, pressing his aching erection against her for some relief.
As he deepened the kiss a little more, he allowed his hand furthest away from the crowd and hidden to slip into the neckline of her dress and squeeze her breast. It drew out a little moan from her.
Finally, the satisfied crowd had clapped and cheered, allowing him to carry on, but not before he had whispered a reminder.
"I look forward to seeing you on your knees soon, my lady..."
...
She brushed Rajahs coat again, when she paused to listen carefully. Sometimes Thorin joined her in the evenings before she had finished tending to Rajah because of his impatience to usher her into their bedroom. But he was not quiet in his approach.
The sound quietened again, so she slowly began to tidy away the leopards enclosure. The beast himself purred as he followed her around. It was strange how he was so much like a domestic cat much of the time.
"I know, my poor love. I wish you could roam around our bedroom too, but grumpy old Thorin will complain..." She paused again at the sound of quiet rustling. It was closer this time. "I know you are there. So I shall give you a chance to step out before I allow Rajah to take care of you -"
"Very good, Princess. But I think ye should have guards with ye all the time." Dwalin whispered. "If I was able to sneak up close, then someone else could too."
"Not with Rajah -"
"Lass, what if there were two of me eh? One to tackle the beast, and one ter catch ye?"
"Then you both make a much louder noise on approach."
"Aye but ye haven't even got a dagger with ye! Will ye at least learn how to defend yeself?" Dwalin grumbled. "I donnae have time ter argue with ye. Thorin will be expecting ya soon. I donnae like that either-"
"But he has to think that I have given in to him."
"Well, todays stunt won't have helped ya."
"No, but if I give in completely then he will suspect something too, right?" She whispered. "I just need to know whether you are with me -"
"I am with ye. And so is Balin and Gloin. So you have the chief advisor and the treasurer. And you have my army. But know that when ye make a move that Thorin will fight back. He will likely have his own nobility who will follow him." Dwalin sighed. He didn't like the idea of a coup. Thorin was his oldest friend and they had unconditional trust up until now. "If he fights back, will ye be willing ter kill him? Because I think he will be willing to die to reclaim his throne..."
"No. We don't kill anyone." She was certain on that. "Anyway we must wait for Arvind to arrive and for Durins Day festivities to be done first..."
"Very well. Do ye trust Erol, lass? I am not sure about him..."
"Yes. He has been nothing but kind to me. And he is popular amongst the nobles. He may be useful yet."
"Well, I donnae like the way he looks at ye..." Dwalin didn't like the young dwarf. He was too charming and too handsome. And the princess didn't need a distraction like that.
"I am frankly more worried about Dis..."
"Leave Kili to work on her. She knows what favours you have given in exchange that she may see her son." Dwalin reassured her. "And she likes ya regardless. I know her..."
"Then why did she suggest that you were going to kill him? It was clearly a lie- I almost shouted as I got to his study."
Dwalin frowned in the darkness of the stables, unsure of the Kings sister and her motivations.
"She is not an easy one though, so yer right to be cautious around her for now."
Shobha stood up, now genuinely worried about the time, there was no need to give Thorin any further reason to punish her poor body again tonight. But she would have been lying in part if she didn't confess that she did enjoy his touch on her body - even on occasion his roughness.
"We must find a better way to meet..."
"Och aye - next time I'll pencil in a coup-meeting in the Queen Consorts diary at midday eh?" Dwalin groused. "Make sure ye come for some training with me, lass. If ye mean to be serious about this, ye need to be able to defend yerself."
...
"Well, what do you think?" Bilbo gave a twirl in his new suit. It was a rich brown colour, with deep red velvet waistcoat and a deep green pair of trousers. His shirt although he didn't show it off too much was made of a fine elvish linen, obviously a gift from Greenwood.
"It is perfect, Master Baggins," she smiled, standing up from the large stool she had made herself comfortable on. Then she ambled over to the cravats that Dori had laid out while he fussed about two other small coats that had been made for the hobbit too. "Here..."
She walked over and began to tie a cravat on him to match.
"So you have included the Durins Day feast amidst your nine nights. That is actually rather -"
"Ingenious. But that is what makes our lady such a wonderful Queen," Dori added. "Now I think you are ready, Master Baggins. So first I shall get dressed and then come and attend to our lady here..."
"Come then, Master Baggins," she offered her arm to him. "Let us walk over to Thorins Rooms. I am hoping he will have been ready some hours ago. He has many inaugural duties as King so will be needed long before I will..."
Bilbo nodded happy with this explanation.
"You are certain though that he will not mind my attending you, while you...well...you know...dress..." Bilbo blushed again.
"I don't think he can worry too much. After all he has enough dams fawning over him...he is welcome to spend the night tormenting them instead."
"Somehow, I do not think you truly feel that way, my lady," Bilbo was always the voice of reason. It was often both enlightening and annoying all at once. "If only we could find a way to return the Thorin who once arrived in Rhun and asked for your hand in marriage...you said he was not quite as unpleasant then didn't you?"
"It was so long ago, Bilbo, and frankly it was for such a short time. I do not know what I recall of him now. He was still as arrogant I think." She had been a different woman back then and indeed so had he. "Now be truthful, and tell me, as you always do. Is what I embark on, a bad idea? Honestly?"
Bilbo walked along with her silently for a while carefully thinking. The grand marble corridors echoed their footsteps.
"I actually think that this is why Gandalf took Thorin and Dwalin to your father's court, instead of arranging the marriage for you." He concluded. "Gandalf the Grey works in mysterious ways. They are rarely straightforward and equally often his intentions on the surface are rarely what he truly intends. So I think he always intended for Thorin to turn down your sister, and choose you. But what we didn't understand is that Gandalf also believed that if something happened to Thorin, that you would find a way to rule in his place."
She sighed. It was all quite possible with the Grey One. He was as tricky and cunning as he was kind and sweet.
"What I don't understand is why you play along still. You had the perfect reason to leave his room..."
She gave Bilbo a sidelong glance. He had once again deduced what none of the others had.
"If I tell you, will you think of me as lesser or weaker?" She blushed.
"You have no judgement from me, my lady. In fact you have nothing but my allegiance!"
"Bilbo, I fear that I might be with child..." She could feel her cheeks burning. It had been so soon to conceive, but Thorin had instilled so much of his seed within her, it was always an inevitable eventuality. "But this is a secret between us. Promise me?"
Bilbo nodded. He was bursting with excitement but also with worry. He had overheard Dis speaking with Oin about a woman carrying a dwarven child, and although he had not heard all the details, it had not ended well.
"I solemnly give you my word," Bilbo bowed his head. "But I fear it is not the sole reason..."
"Well, it is in some ways preserving a charade...but sometimes...when he is kind and gentle..." She paused with a sigh, wondering whether he would ever be as tender as he was that week before she had run away. It was a stupid hope, but she did anyway, deep down inside, that he would show her affection like that again, one day. "Well, when he is like that...it is actually quite...pleasant."
She sighed again. She could spend a lifetime with that version of Thorin. She could love him with all her heart.
"But when he is also cruel, he can be a monster." She concluded, almost attempting to warn herself of the dangers of allowing her unguarded heart to orbit his being. "Besides, I cannot go back. My father is ill, and while he recovers, my step-brother is King in his stead. And I know he would have me banished. So I have no choice."
"Could your father not help at all?"
"My mother says he is very poorly indeed. Even if he could help, I would not wish him to be troubled at this time. He must recover for the good of our kingdom. No, Bilbo, my battles are mine to fight at the moment..."
"Well, you are not alone...you have me as long as I can be helpful..." Bilbo patted her hand as they carried on towards Thorins bedroom. He couldn't help but feel sorry for this woman. Ever since they entered the mountain once more Thorin had changed, and he could only wonder how he treated her when they were alone.
"Why do you still call it his room?" Bilbo mused out loud. To him it was a clear sign that Thorin had intentions for her, and perhaps even true feelings, but that he had been too cowardly to acknowledge them despite being the great warrior and King under the Mountain that he was!
"Because it IS his room. I am merely a temporary companion..."
But when she opened the door, she was surprised to find Thorin inside.
"My Lord! You are still not ready!" She looked worried as Thorin registered her chaperone, a flash of anger flitting across his handsome features on seeing the girl with the hobbit.
"No. And neither are you my lady." He huffed looking at her clothes laid out on the bed. It grated him deeply still, that Dori dressed her. And now he wondered whether the hobbit had planned to watch or help! To imagine both their hands on her while she was half nude, having her bodice tightened, with her breasts proud, and her hair brushed and adorned, it vexed him beyond words. And he didn't care for the reassurances of his sister. And he didn't care how many times or how innocent Doris attentions towards his wife were. "Thank you for escorting my wife, Master Baggins, but now I would like to request her company and assistance to get dressed, if you wouldn't mind."
Bilbo and Shobha were both surprised by his demand. Although she imagined it was because he wanted to have her before they got dressed.
"Of course..." Bilbo bowed. "I shall see you in the great banquet hall, my lady..."
And with that the hobbit had turned and started back down the corridor towards the festivities.
She stood still by the door, watching him walk away for a moment, attempting to suppress the flutter that stirred in her stomach whenever she came across Thorin. It felt like a sickness, for how cruel he could be at times towards her. In truth she should have borne a disdain for his behaviour!
"Are you going to stand there all the while, my lady?" Thorin grunted at her. "You know that they will not begin the dancing without us. So we must be there to open the dance floor in another hour."
She carefully shut the door and walked in.
He stood buttoning up his tunic, while watching her in the mirror.
"What can I do to help you dress...?" She asked, a little uncertain of what he wanted.
"Well perhaps you could come a little closer...?" He snapped, watching her again with those intense eyes. "And perhaps you should also consider undressing...I do not think you have much time to get ready either."
She carefully moved closer, wondering what exactly he wanted her to do, when he reached out and took her hand. Silently he pulled her towards him, and pressed her body against his.
"Or would you like help, undressing?" He whispered in her ear, before kissing her lightly.
"But all you would do is to tear my clothes open, and that is not helpful." She replied. "Now we should get you ready."
But he held her wrist so she couldn't move away.
"I want you to help me with my hair." He handed her a comb and sat down at her dressing table.
She stood there for a moment surprised by this turn of events, before she moved to stand behind him. He had never requested anything this intimate before.
"I thought hair was sacred for your people? And not to be touched by outsiders...?" She carefully began by carding through his dark and silver strands using her fingers alone, while he continued to watch her in the mirror with his piercing gaze, which often felt unyielding.
"But you are my wife, and soon I imagine, will be the mother of my children."
She could smell the perfumed oils he used to cleanse and soften his hair. She had only tended to his hair a few times while he had been injured. But he had never requested her to do so before.
Then slowly she passed the comb through his silver streaked, dark hair. She had grown to appreciate the softness of his mane more, during their recent night together when he often blindfolded her. His soft hair, trailing over her body was often a stark contrast to the rough ways in which he penetrated her. It was like the soothing touch to the burn he created.
During this time, he had watched her face in the mirror with the intensity of a thousand stares.
Finally after braiding the strands around his face, as he had instructed, she had set the comb down on her dresser, only to find him standing close behind her.
His eyes were filled with a darkness and that terrified her.
"What's wrong? Did I...do it wrong?"
"No." He grasped her waist and claimed her lips. There had been something in him that had been stirred by her gentle touches, and the tenderness with which she had cared for his hair. It had brought him to the point where he could no longer ignore it. "I must have you now -"
"But you will crease your clothing!" She warned, as he moved her to the bed with urgency. "And I can't afford to have another winter dress destroyed! Poor Dori cannot keep -"
"Never," he pushed her onto their large bed, until she landed in a soft heap, cushioned by the blankets and her skirts. "Ever. Mention Dori again, when I am about to have you."
"Oh-"
That was all she could manage, as he had quickly unlaced her clothing and pulled off her dress, leaving her cold and completely exposed on the bed. Her brown skin prickled with goosebumps and her nipples grew proud in the cold mountain air.
But this time, unlike previously, he had not needed to tie her down, for he knew her body inside out. And he had been quick to begin his assault down her most sensitive path, until his mouth found her core.
With that any and all her resistance had fallen away as he devoured her, even her legs opening wider for him, of her own will.
Neither had even noticed as Dori himself had entered the room to find her entirely nude, fisting the sheets tightly, while their King knelt between her legs, splayed wide.
And that had also been the last time Dori had ever entered the room without waiting for her reply!
...
She made her way to where Bilbo sat, quite contentedly smoking his pipe after dinner.
After dinner, as was customary, Thorin had opened the dancefloor with her. But contrary to her thoughts that after the first dance, he would either change partner or stop, it turned out that he had actually enjoyed dancing! They had danced for almost an hour, when he had finally moved to join a group of nobles, listening to stories of their travels back from Ered Luin.
Of course, it hadn't taken long for the dams to surround the King! Laughing and giggling, trying to catch his attention.
She had no intention of being around them, taking the chance, instead, to thank many of the dwarves and dams who had helped to arrange this grand feast and ball. She certainly had no desire to sit there and watch Thorin decide on a mistress!
Finally she had made her way back to Bilbo, whom she had planned to sit with originally, although Thorin had changed it so that she had been stuck next to a nobledam instead. The dam had barely spoken to her all evening, which had forced Shobha, and Thorin too had been less talkative this evening, even though he had been attentive enough.
"My dear Bilbo! Am I glad to see you." She whispered sitting down heavily on a chair beside the hobbit.
"My lady, I am sorry that I could not sit with you," he smiled puffing away. "But I must say your evening has been brilliant! And I certainly enjoyed myself- you on the other hand looked positively miserable!"
"Oh dear was it that obvious?"
"A little." He chuckled mischievously.
"Well I was seated between Sir Grumpy and a teapot!" She chuckled back.
"Why a tea pot?"
"Honestly? I suppose...because she reminded a lot of a teapot my mother has..." She laughed shrugging her shoulders. The dam had barely regarded her and simply ate and drank all evening, leaving her to only try talking with Thorin. And that was not easy since every time she looked at him, she couldn't help blushing, since he had spent the previous half hour doing unspeakable things to her southern regions! "It's a very pretty teapot, if that makes any difference?"
Bilbo sat up and looked around the room to spot the dam in question as she chatted away happily to several other dwarves and nodded in agreement.
"I can see the resemblance. And yes, a very handsome teapot indeed. Beside her teacup friends!" He blew out a puff of smoke and turned his attention back to her. "And who would have guessed that Mr Grumpy is an excellent dancer...?"
He paused watching her reaction again, as she briefly glanced over at Thorin and quickly looked away again.
"If you are with child, we need to contact Gandalf with haste..." Bilbo took another draw on his pipe. He didn't like what he had overheard from Dis about the woman who had borne a dwarven child, and he was certain that Dis too had been pained by it. "Or perhaps Thranduil...he seems to like you a lot...?"
She frowned at the hobbit, feeling a little bothered by the subject of the elf.
"If you are fishing, master Baggins, then nothing happened between us. Besides, his prejudices and arrogance would never permit me even as a lover!" She was not sure why the subject irritated her so much, but it did. "He is just as bad as Thorin."
"But if he did...would you...accept his affections, as a lover?" Bilbo always had a knack of getting to the utter truth in such an efficient way that their relationship always felt so stripped down.
"I...am not sure..."
All her life she had been treated as a lesser creature, either for the weakness or her sex, or for her upbringing as the illegitimate daughter of a courtesan, or for the darkness or her skin. For whatever the secret desires they harboured for her, neither Thorin nor Thranduil were any different. And perhaps it the pain of that truth that struck her.
But this was her life, and she had to find a way to make it better for her and perhaps for any babe she might carry.
"Well, I am not sure I feel happy about this."
"Neither do I! But once the washerwoman from Dale, told me of putting lemon tops inside me before he bedded me. And he discovered it! How his...dong...is so sensitive I simply can't fathom...but he pulled it out of me, and told me if he ever caught me with another lemon top inside me, that he would have the washerwoman taken to the dungeons!" She ranted before realizing that poor Bilbo had positively turned completely red! "Sorry..."
"Well...I mean...I suppose, I am your friend...and there for you to speak of your sorrows..." Bilbo coughed out.
She was quick to pour out a tankard of ale and pass it to him.
"Let us not panic too early yet though, it has only just gone past the month yet, perhaps it will be nothing." She clapped her hands over her face. "He is after all almost two-hundred years old..."
And they both paused for a moment deep in thought.
"Bilbo...I hate to ask this of you...because I think you have already carried out your duties to us all..." She paused again to look at the hobbit. Ever since she arrived in Erebor, she had always been alone, except for the company of the hobbit.
"Well, I am your humble servant, my lady..."
"Actually I was hoping that you were my friend." She smiled. "And I was hoping I could ask you to stay on a little longer...perhaps even...until...after I delivered...?"
He smiled back at her words, leaning in and patting her hand.
"I am, always, your friend, my lady." He beamed at her shy confession and then tapping his pipe clear or any ashes, he quickly put it away in his pocket, stood up and held his hand out. "May I have this dance, my lady?"
She smiled, and stood up, taking his hand.
Bilbo although smaller than Thorin, was nimble and a very good partner. His style was much lighter, such that soon they were chuckling as he twirled her, and skipped along on the dance floor.
"Now, my lady, I too have a rather more serious question to ask. Your plans for...the...future...?"
She blinked at him surprised that he knew.
"Who told you?"
"Well, I am the slightest bit hurt that you did not ask me to join..."
"Kili then." She sighed. "Of course it must be! But you must realised that it is very risky. I imagine if he found out, he would kill me -"
"Not if you are carrying...'baby Grumpy'..."
"Ah...that is really cute..." She cooed at the thought briefly before her face twisted in worry. "Oh gods, do you think any babe we had would turn out all morose and hairy like him?"
"You are both very handsome. I think any babe you had would be quite the looker - but also I do not think moroseness is a worry with you as a mother..." He mused. "Besides, I do not think even he would kill you if you did bear his child - in fact, I would say that might work in your favour!"
"No. He would keep me alive until I had the baby and then kill me after I gave birth probably." She countered quietly as they twirled about again. "Which is why I asked that you stay until I do...and that I kept you out of it. If anything happened to me, I would hope that you would help raise my child?"
He felt touched, and wanted to embrace her and reassure her that all would be fine, but Thorin was Thorin, and she would be staging a coup. It was very risky business indeed. Suddenly he felt miles away from his old life in Bagend, with his regular meals, his delightful garden and his books.
"It's a bit too late for that, my lady. Who do you think ransacked that office in order to create a distraction to get you out?" He whispered. "Kili and Tauriel truly feared for you that day..."
"Master Baggins!" Thorin interrupted, patting him on the shoulder warmly. Although she was not entirely convinced that he was not a little suspicious. "I am glad to be welcome you back from your travels..."
"Well a few days in Dale was hardly a travel Thorin. But I am honoured to be back."
"And Greenwood too?" Thorin regarded curiously at first, but she knew he was suspicious now.
"Yes, Tauriel had invited Bilbo. Isnt that kind?"
"Yes. Very kind." Thorin dismissed. "Now you must forgive me, but I would like to steal my bride away from you."
It was not a request.
"Of course!"
But he hadn't even waited for an answer as he took her hand and began to lead her away.
"Let us retire, my lady."
...
She awoke with a jolt.
It had been the same nightmare. The one of her as a child as she stood there frozen while the giant sandworm approached her. She had been eight years when it had happened. But she had never forgotten.
Sometimes she wouldn't see the creature in her dreams for months and then suddenly she would see it every night for weeks on end, until she could not sleep.
That morning she had slept in later than usual. And waking up from such a nightmare had left her somewhat disoriented.
Blinking, she looked around still surprised that she was not in Rhun.
Thorin had already left, but to her surprise this particular morning he had not left her tied for the first time in while!
Almost every night he had tied her up. At first he had started by using leather straps. It had chafed and bitten at her skin, which to her surprise he had noticed with each passing night. Soon, it had led to him changing the leather to silk straps.
Similarly, she had found herself feeling strangely more and more aroused each night almost as soon as he had begun to tie her wrists. It had been the anticipation.
He had not always been rough with her though. Some night he had been so tender, she could have sworn he cared for her, while other nights he would mercilessly plunder her body, only chasing his own climax, as if possessed by something darker. But each night he had always spent in their bed afterwards, often holding her, even if he had left her still bound.
It often left her feeling tired, sore, confused and on occasion used in the harsh light of the morning.
But today had felt a little different. Last night had felt gentle. He had cut her bindings early on, and held her through the night.
Now in the morning after he was gone she had wondered what had changed about their relationship.
It had left her feeling a little suspicious about his motives. Or perhaps he had simply been a little merry with all the ale.
The doors swung open, shaking her from her lazy morning.
"My dear...you have not been for breakfast for the last few days."
It was Dis!
"So I thought I should bring some breakfast to you." She wheeled in a trolley.
She instinctively clutched the blankets to her body, watching the dam enter the room and bustle about.
"I am really fine, thank you." She attempted to sound neutral, but in truth she had stayed away from Dis since that day.
"Come now my dear, I need your help today - with Fili's hair. You seem to have done it so well, I had to ask whether you could do it again," she smiled at Shobha, bringing the trolley closer. "Besides it is not good to miss breakfast if you are trying to conceive."
She clutched the blankets tighter.
"Please?" Dis asked again.
She sat up and watched her husband's sister moving around their room before slipping out of the bed with the blankets around her.
Dis was clearly not intent on accepting a polite decline from her as an answer. And could she decline helping Fili, truly? Her heart aches every time she thought of the young Prince as he lay there in his sleeping death.
"Let me have a bath, and get dressed."
She had not taken long, but Dis had taken it upon herself to tidy up their clothes from the previous day that had been strewn over various items of furniture. It was usually what she did each morning, since Thorin barely allowed her any time to do so contemporaneously. Most nights he would strip her of her clothes, barely managing not to rip them off! And if she ever undressed while he was in the room, he took it as an opportunity to satisfy his perverted urges!
When she turned down breakfast, apparently Dis was not entirely satisfied. But she made it seem as though her central worry that morning was to help Fili.
So they had both walked to the young Princes room together, in a slightly awkward silence.
"You seem lost in thought my dear. Does anything trouble you?" Dis asked, although she was clearly fishing.
"There are still many preparations to be completed. And I worry about the safe return of Arvind."
"Of course. But I sense that you no longer consider me a friend..." Dis spoke closing the door behind her as Shobha approached Fili.
"I am not sure how I should respond to this, my lady?" She replied coming to sit by Fili's head. His hair had already been washed and a small vial of oil placed by his bed along with his comb.
"Come now, let us clear the air. I know you are not entirely happy with my brother.."
But Shobha remained silent.
She had once hoped Dis would have offered her support when she had wished to move out of Thorin's room, but instead found her siding with her husband instead!
"I like you, so I will be perfectly honest with you - no games. Thorin is hard, and selfish. Will he be ever as great as our grandfather Thror? I could not see it. But now, with you by his side, I think he stands that chance. And that makes me like you more." Dis walked over to watch as Shobha paused from combing out Filis hair carefully. "But that day I lied about Dwalin and a plot to kill Thorin, because I needed to know whether you would..."
Shobha stood silently listening - she would not justify that last comment with a response.
"And I think it is I that should apologize to you for even doubting the purity of your heart. Just as you cared for my son, as if he were of your own blood, I see that you would never harm my brother..." Dis confessed. "So I am here to care for you in the same way...it is important that I know whether you are with child..."
"What?!" Shobha jerked away from Dis as if pushed by some invisible force. "Its none of your business -"
"Please. Thorin says that you have not bled for thirty days yet...?"
This time Shobha put down the comb, and stood up from where she had begun to comb Filis hair.
She was incensed! He was a complete sneak!
Sudden it all made sense - his insisting on sleeping in the same bed as her every night and the recent tenderness (most likely because he thought her with child)!
And now she felt like a complete fool! He had only ever kept her in HIS bed chambers so that he could spy on all these things, even the nights she had considered him kind for holding her when she bled.
She wanted to leave and go back to bed.
Dis and Fili could be damned for all she cared now!
"Please don't go!" Dis held her hands up, pleading. "If I did not care for you - why would I tell you this?"
"How can I know that this isn't another one of your tricks? Like what you did last time?" She moved towards the door, as if Dis would at any moment cut her off and lock her in!
"I am telling you everything...because..." Dis seemed to pause and think for a moment before continuing. "Because it is important that the moment we know you are with child, that we inform the elves...they are the only ones with healers who may help you. A gestation with a dwarven child when you are of men is dangerous...and at first I thought perhaps my brother would not be able to conceive...but now perhaps it is true...and...I know what it's like to watch my children grow without a father...to raise them without a husband...and that is why I am grateful for everything that Thorin has ever done for me...but HE is also the reason my husband is not here today...he took him to the front lines...when I pleaded him to be kept behind!"
Dis began to sob. She pulled out a velvet handkerchief, and used it to muffle the sounds she made, dabbing her nose intermittently.
"And we are all broken for it! But I cannot imagine how my boys would have grown up, if they had no mother!" Dis sobbed again. "So we must ensure you have the best care, when you are with child...and when your labours come...and my brother - I have warned him - but he is too obstinate to see or accept my words - to call on help for your health -"
Suddenly she frowned.
"It was YOU! YOU wrote that note! That I am in danger!" Shobha cried. "Why couldn't you just tell me?"
"Because I would have sounded mad? Or as though I were telling you never to have a child with Thorin?!" She sobbed again. "Kili told me you have offered yourself for him - so that he may visit me. He is all that I have left - and I fear for our sake you may have conceived..."
Shobha still regarded her with some suspicion. She would need more time before she trusted Dis. For all she knew, Dis may have overheard her whisper to Bilbo.
"Very well. How do you tell then, if I am with child?" She would have to go along with this for now. After all, she would need Dis on side too, if indeed she planned a coup!
"Well, everyone thinks the sickness is telling, but in truth it will be your breasts. Are they firmer than usual? Tender when they are touched?" Dis pointed, before running to a corner of the room and bringing over a basket. "And this is an old trick the elves would do...they do not lay with one another other than for begetting children...but they believe if you are with child, this wild wheat will bloom..."
The dwarrowdam waved her hands over the basket as if the contents within were magic!
Shobha had seen plenty of old wives remedies and ways of detecting pregnancy or even guessing whether the babe was a boy or girl! But this magic wheat was a new one.
"Right...so I keep it beside the bed? Or under the bed?" She guessed, trying to suppress a laugh that was building up within her at the sheer ridiculousness of it all.
"Actually...you have to urinate on it." Dis pushed the basket over to her, entirely serious of her request.
"Er..." She couldn't look straight at Dis. It was arguably the wildest thing she had ever been asked to do! "Very well...allow me to get a chamber pot..."
"No need, my dear, we have filled the bottom with hay, so you can just go right ahead. It's only us girls here..." Dis paused looking over at her son with a twinge of sadness and mischief. "Fili wouldn't mind..."
"Right...here...?" Shobha asked again, wide eyed, sure that she had misheard her sister-in-law.
Dis simply nodded, pushing the basket filled with the wheat closer to her.
...