It had been two weeks since Thorin had been well enough to resume his normal duties. He still had a very mild limp and needed to put his feet up a bit more often and couldn't train as much as he wished, but on the whole felt much better. Having realised that he had almost died a most agonising death, he had discovered a new found happiness in many of the simpler things in life. He had noticed Shobha had been sending Ravens to Dis fairly frequently, and often wondered what they had been saying to each other. Of course as King under the Mountain, he could have intercepted the letters and read them if he so wished, but did not wish to pry on their female conversations.

He had fallen back into a routine of working, and spending his evenings in the library instead of his study, waiting for Shobha to join him, which she always did, even if she had been delayed at times in the infirmary. Sometimes they talked, or he would silently brood smoking his pipe, or she would be deep into her reading, and they seemed to find much comfort in each other's presence. However they would often end the evening parting with passionate kisses, usually leaving Thorin very worked up, and he was sure she would be just as flustered, at times pulling away at his coat or on a couple of occasions even brushing her hand over his trousers. But there was always something that held her back and he had begun to worry what it may have been. But as per Dwarven courting rites he never pushed her, and in any case they would have to wait for their wedded night to consummate their union, which now seemed an agonising prospect.

Thorin had also spent more time visiting Glóin in the treasury and had been pleased to note that he had no desire for any of its contents. In fact the only thing the treasury brought to his mind was that he had been meaning to buy or locate from the treasury, a matching pair of elaborate gold and sapphire earrings and bracelet for Shobha to go with the necklace he had picked out for her.

This particular morning Balin had joined him, as he walked through and spoke with Glóin at length, about many different matters, including payment for various workers in Erebor, and payment for repairs and supplies. At the end of this Balin who had been documenting the meeting, looked at Glóin and nodded smiling tentatively.

"Thorin, if you are still sure you want to do this, we think you may be ready." Balin mentioned softly.

Thorin was sure he HAD to do it, but not that he WANTED to. He nodded solemnly, maintaining his stone mask, so they would not be able to read his worry.

Then Balin put his scroll and quill down on the large gold table and rummaged in his coat and pulled out a well wrapped velvet roll, and placed it in front of Thorin on the table.

He looked down at it. Even with the layer of wrapping it seemed small now. Taking a silent breath, he slowly and deliberately reached down and unwrapped it. And there it lay, there was no doubt what it was – the heart of the mountain. The jewel shone with its own inner light, it emanated thousands of sparks of white radiance with a rainbow glimmer, bathing his face in an eerie glow, as he held it in his hands, his blue eyes fixed by its brilliance.

Balin and Glóin observed him carefully and then looked at each other with worry. Would he change? Had it been wise to let him hold it so soon?

Looking at it, reminded Thorin of the mountain, of Thrór and Thráin. Then it reminded him of the many people that came to pay homage to Thrór, and then the fire drake, and then of Dain and his army fighting Azog and his orcs, while he sat on the throne: The memory sickened him. And then suddenly her image came to him: She was wearing the smaller Raven Crown of the Queen, wearing Durin colours of rich navy and gold, standing next to him, her small right hand resting in his large left hand, giving him strength. He shut his eyes, and took another deep breath; Again he saw her, now laid bare and spread out before him on his bed while he made passionate love to her, gripping her hands, surrounded by furs, warm brown skin draped in jewels and the glow of the fireplace; He saw her standing on their terrace, her small hand protectively cradling her swollen belly as she smiled gazing out towards Dale; And her, chasing several young raven haired children out in the fields, laughing, in the height of summer, her own raven hair loose, just as he loved it. And suddenly he could breath freely once more. He wasn't certain whether it was his imagination driven by his own desire, or whether it was some strange vision of the future as a result of holding the Arkenstone.

He opened his eyes suddenly more relaxed and placed the jewel back in the velvet and wrapped it up. He knew what he had to do to unite the seven clans and he had the strength to do it.

"I think that went much better than I expected." He looked at Balin and Glóin, who both wore looks of relief on their faces.

Thorin sat waiting for Shobha in the library, smoking his pipe, brooding. He had hoped she would have arrived sooner, but had been informed that she had been working slightly later than expected in the infirmary.

That afternoon Thorin had rearranged his parents parlour, removing some of the older furniture, placing a few chaises and creating a space that they could spend time relaxing together in, instead of the library. He had placed many candles about the room ready to light when he took her in there. He had worried about why she hadn't formally accepted his proposal to court. It had been a few weeks now, and while he had initially thought of waiting patiently for her, the passion of their recent kisses and the visions he had seen today in the treasury had left him desperate to claim her in every way: As his lover, his wife, his Queen and the mother of his children. So he had decided to take a bit more control, even though, as custom dictated, it would ultimately be her decision.

Just then the door opened softly. He placed his pipe on the silver tray that lay on top of his side table and stood up to greet her. She appeared flustered, but seeing him seemed to light her face up with a smile.

"My Lady," he crossed the room to meet her, taking her hand gently in his and bringing it up to his lips, placing a soft kiss across the knuckles.

"Thorin, I'm sorry – were you waiting for me?" She searched his face.

"Aye, beautiful one,"he smiled. "Were you looking for me, also?"

"Yes, but its fine – I can wait. You go first." She swallowed, as he took her hand and led her through his study from the library to the connecting door.

As they reached the large dark wood door, he stopped, took both her hands in his, and stood in front of her.

"Do you trust me?" He asked her, his electric eyes fixed on her big doe eyes.

"Of course." She tilted her head slightly questioningly.

"Then close your eyes."

She willingly complied. And he opened the door and led her in carefully. Once inside he left her to stand with her eyes closed, while he rushed around lighting as many of the candles as he had patience for, before he rushed back to hold her hands in his once more. And then placed a light kiss on her lips.

"You can open your eyes now…"

She slowly opened her eyes, and he watched her as she took in the parlour, her face lighting up once more.

"It's beautiful Thorin." She breathed out in appreciation. "But isn't this your parents?"

"Aye, beautiful one. And now it's ours…" he smiled softly at her. He loved seeing how her face lit up when ever she laid eyes on something she thought was beautiful. "Of course, when you feel comfortable I expect you will want to dress it as you would like, but I thought it may be more comfortable to relax in than the library… you can read in here."

While his parents' parlour brought back many fond memories, since reclaiming Erebor it had been difficult to forget the pain of losing them so tragically. And he felt there could be no better way of turning those sad memories into happier ones that spending time with his One in that same sacred space… and he even dared to dream that could be used as a parlour for the future family he created with her.

"Thank you Thorin, it's perfect…" she swallowed and continued. She seemed nervous, and that worried him slightly.

"There is something else, my lady –" Thorin began, but she interrupted him.

"Please Thorin, I need to talk you. And if I don't do it now I'm afraid I will lose my nerve. And I have looking for the right moment now for a couple of weeks." She explained holding his hands, in hers. "You asked me whether I wanted this with you…"

"Aye, beautiful one. But before you answer me, you need to know that I have started trying to hold the Arkenstone once more. If I am successful, all will be well. But as you know there is a chance that I might…" he trailed off unable to finish what he was trying to say.

She held her tongue, understanding how much he needed to tell her this, and gave him her full attention.

"I changed significantly before – I may change again." His shoulders were slumped and he appeared defeated. "I understand if you decide that you do not wish for this… for me."

She hushed him suddenly with several reassuring kisses. And then pulled away once she thought she had his attention.

"Thorin, you asked me before whether I am sure: That I want this… at the time I said yes. And I realise that while my heart had always decided, I suspect you would have objected if I hadn't given it some sort of time.. and I have." And then she reached into the small hidden pockets in her skirts and pulled something out which she kept hidden in her clenched fist. "I just wanted to do it properly."

Then holding her fist out to him, she opened her fingers to reveal an elegant gold hair bead which had the Durin crest engraved on one side, and as she rolled it in her palm to reveal the rune representing the letter S engraved on the back.

"Amralime, Thorin. I love you with all my heart. And I still mean, what I said then. I want to stand by you – in all the good and the bad," she then touched his hair, making his body ache for her. "You have to do what you must to unite your people. And I will stand by you. And if you change, then I will love you still, and try to help you."

"They are now your people too, my lady. You are now a Longbeard." And with that he took her in his arms and kissed her, leaving a further trail of kisses along her jaw, up and down her neck and to her chest, until she pushed him off, panting. While she wanted so much to surrender herself to him completely, she knew how important the customs were to him, and if she didn't prompt it now, they would surely forget.

"Thorin will you please braid my hair now, before I lose all sense?"

"Aye, beautiful one. And for you, until I make you one, I want to give you one of my warrior beads; given to me by Thrór." He smiled as he removed it from one of his front braids. "He would have loved you, and most highly approved. And it will ward off any others if they want to try."

He led her to one of the chaises, and sat down first spreading his legs and gesturing for her to sit between. When she was comfortable, he first reached into the inner pocket on his jacket and pulled out a small well wrapped velvet roll. Then gently picking her hair over her shoulder and wrapping his arms around her, he set it in her lap, placing a hot open mouthed kiss on her neck as he did. She found herself very responsive to his kiss, turning around to search for his lips.

"No, Beautiful one," he moved around denying her, and placing another hot kiss on the other side of her neck. "Open your gift first."

Shobha carefully unwrapped the velvet. Nestled inside was a pair of long, elegant, gold earrings, set with sapphires and filigree work. It matched the necklace he had given her before.

"Oh my goodness! It's gorgeous!" She gasped and putting them on, she turned around getting on her hands and knees and crawling up his chest to kiss him. Her hands wrapping around his neck and fingers tangling themselves gently in his hair driving him wild. He placed his arms on her hips and pulled her firmly into him, as he tasted her, letting his hands wonder across her body eliciting soft moans from her. As he began to feel more aroused, he stopped, once again turning his kisses more chaste and resting his forehead on hers. He still wanted to braid her hair, he had never had that pleasure. And if he carried on that would not happen.

Before he turned her back around, he admired the long earrings on her, elongating her slender neck and smiled.

"My lady, gold and jewels were made for your skin." Seeing how beautiful the jewellery was against her brown skin, he suddenly craved to see her spread out on his bed, with nothing but jewellery on, like he had in his vision.

"Thank you, Thorin. They are truly beautiful." She smiled back softly, and then understanding the importance of the braiding, she ignored the clearly palpable evidence of his desire that pressed against her and was driving her crazy.

Shobha expected the braiding to be straightforward, just like when Dis and Bifur had braided her hair. But she soon realised that having Thorin's hands through her hair was actually a very sensual experience. And he appeared to revel in her touch just as much, when she braided his hair – of course it didn't help that she had sat straddling his lap. Their hair braiding had somehow transformed into much more: He had managed to manoeuvre her underneath him on the chaise, her skirts all lifted up to her thigh, and the top of her bodice unlaced. While his coat had fallen away, followed rapidly by his tunic, and she had even managed to begin unlacing the top of his trousers. Eventually their movement had lead to the unsheathing of his sword, which had landed firmly, point down, impaling his coat with a metallic cling, which had brought them both to their senses.

He had groaned in frustration, and they had both shyly straightened themselves up.

"My lady, you will need to start planning a wedding fast." He turned to her, eyes still dark with lust. "I do not think my self control will last much longer."

"Oh! But I need Dis for that!" Shobha sounded disappointed. He found her growing relationship with his sister both worrying and endearing, but trusted she wouldn't share too many personal details.

"Perhaps let's make a plan, my beautiful one, you need to be crowned, and we have to be wed, we can set a date, and Dis can travel as soon as is safe and help with the final stages?" He cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her face up and kissed her again. He held his coat draped over his arm hiding himself for modesty. "Now you need to rest Amralime, and I need a very long cold shower." He grinned at her stupidly.