Sigrid thought that married life so far was confusing but she navigated her way through the mountain as best as she could. Her duties had changed somewhat but it was for the best in the long-run. She worked with Eva for her to take over the little things she did for Dale, informed her who was the most tiresome of the citizens and how to best appease them. She handed over ledgers of stores to Bain to do inventory, much to his chagrin, and she showed Tilda how to cook every time she visited the mountain. Her sister was eager to learn but quick to forget steps.

Her duties as princess of Erebor were mostly attending functions and getting to know the day to day. Lady Dis gave her so much information on the lords and ladies of the mountain that it was hard to keep track of, but she gave it her best. Her years in Dale helped some but Erebor was a different beast to Dale. She saw what Fili had meant when he said he didn't know who to trust amidst the smiles and sly comments. From the first day she was quick to observe how they spoke, twisting words and weaving tales.

The rest of the mountain had been quick to accept her though, the merchants tipped their hats or bowed deeply as she walked, the folks in the kitchen made room for her when she felt the need to bake, and the children of the mountain quickly began following her around. Sigrid didn't mind it as she missed the school the most. She had handed over the reins to Mrs. Green for the first few weeks while she acclimated to the mountain but burst through to Dale the minute the time was up, losing herself in her lesson plans and finding purpose with the children. They missed her and were glad when she came back to teach.

Her new family took to her well enough, King Thorin had always been standoffish but he gave her a rare smile whenever the family sat down for dinner. Lady Dis fussed at her like she did for her sons and Sigrid didn't mind it. Kili was always friendly with her and would always show up whenever Sigrid made food calling her sweet sister. And Fili…

Fili had been kind and attentive, making sure she could not want for anything. He showed her where her carriage was kept at the stables, took her to the library, and helped bring in her things to their apartments. But he was hardly ever alone with her. They never had breakfast together as Sigrid had as of yet get used to the hours kept inside the mountain. He was usually in meetings or on patrol while she was busy handing over the reins of one city only to learn the customs of another. They were in each other's company quite a bit but there was always someone there. She had tried to spend time with him alone but he would circumvent this with inviting Kili or another member of the company over. They would sit together and talk but never about their relationship. At formal events they walked in together, they laughed together, he would hold her hand or even kiss her cheek. And her skin would burn at his touches no matter how innocent they were.

Weeks passed in this manner and Sigrid felt that she was finally getting a hold on her new world. Things could have been worse, she could have been sent away, never to see her family again, but instead, she was nearby. Tilda was enjoying it, at any rate, she had already spent the night once in the mountain, mostly due to the late hour. But they had spent the night sitting with Lady Dis while she told them stories of her sons in the Blue Mountains. Fili had joined them with Kili to defend themselves from their mother's 'tall tales.'

Sigrid thought she could be content in her new life but the nagging feeling whenever she was around Fili. He seemed distant and she found herself missing the easy manner that they used to have. She found herself missing her friend.

Towards the end of autumn, as the weather was turning cold a caravan came from the Iron Hills bringing Lord Dain and his court. Sigrid watched with the rest of the family as they entered the throne room. The old throne had been dismantled, a great hall, more welcoming was in its place, the Arkenstone nowhere to be seen. Lord Dain bowed deeply before the King before they both embraced heartily, heads colliding hard. Sigrid winced at the sound but the rest of the group laughed and followed suit. Fili soon took her hand and took her for a more formal introduction.

"Cousin, let me introduce to you, Lady Sigrid."

Lord Dain bowed low, "Dain, at your service."

Sigrid dipped low and repeated the sentiment before he laughed and waved it off, "Alright enough with the formalities, I'm starving." He gave her a winning smile behind all of the beard, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Will you escort me down to dinner?"

Sigrid nodded and found herself being led away by the older dwarf, she looked back at Fili and his expression was hard to read, his hands behind his back, his face impassive. She turned her attention back to Lord Dain and spoke to him about his journey. She was seated next to him for the dinner, across from Fili. Lord Dain told them all of the small band of orcs they ran into in the forest and how the Iron Hills was doing. He eventold them stories of the king from when they were young making the king splutter and argue with him.

Sigrid tried to be attentive, to show that she was capable of doing what her mother in law called 'Cajoling the courtiers.' But she felt that there was something off with Fili. He didn't speak unless forced to and pushed his food around. She gave him a small smile when their eyes met and he returned one that didn't meet his eyes.

When dinner was over she excused herself from joining the family for a drink and went to her rooms. She was so tired, the hours that she had been keeping were catching up to her and if she could just lay down then the headache she felt would go away.

Fili caught up to her and didn't say anything, Sigrid didn't either, her path to her chambers was the only thing she could concentrate on. Once inside though she saw the tension in Fili's shoulders and she thought he may be upset. Of what she wasn't sure but she knew that all she wanted was to be out of the dress.

She walked towards the bedroom and straight to the wardrobe, pulling out her nightgown and a robe. She felt that Fili wanted to talk and she thought she could at least be comfortable. When she was finished getting dressed for bed, tightening her robe as she walked and began unpinning elaborate curls on top of her head, running her fingers through her hair as she walked to the living room. Fili had started a fire and was staring into it. In her years of knowing Fili, she had never seen a resemblance with his uncle as she did now.

She didn't know how to start the conversation but she knew that there was an argument beneath the tense lines of his back. They hadn't argued since before they were married. He used to tease her to get her to get angry with him, prodding until she'd snap and he'd laugh and nudge her back to a smile. She felt her head throb at her temples and she longed for her pillows. But she stayed, she pulled the blanket off the couch and wrapped herself in it, the weight of the heavy wool giving her comfort. The fire hadn't been going long and the room had a chill to it that sent shivers through her.

Fili finally turned around and stared at her, "I would like to… warn you about Dain and his friends, mostly the lords he brought with them. They are not always kind and can sometimes be... improper."

It wasn't what Sigrid was expecting, although she wasn't sure she was expecting anything. "I see," She paused, "Anything else?"

His jaw twitched, even through his beard she could see him clenching his teeth. She wasn't sure if she'd ever seen him truly angry outside of battling the orcs in her father's house. Maybe once during a heated discussion with Mirkwood but this seemed different/"I just don't want you getting too comfortable with any of them. Dain is…"

She sighed, not really knowing what Fili was getting at, and too tired at the way he was skirting at the obvious. "What, a flirt? I kinda gathered that quickly enough, and your mother told me of him a bit." He was silent so she took a deep breath. "She warned me that his easy manner and how touchy he could be. Fili I'm a grown woman I know I haven't been alive as long as you but I've lived through enough. I've had old men flirt and call out to me since I became of age, some even before that. Is this why you were so quiet during dinner?"

He kind of stared at her for a moment before giving her a small smile, "I guess I should have known you could take care of yourself." He turned his head away, "I should have known I wasn't needed.I just didn't like how he… how he walked away with you like you were old friends."

Sigrid blinked, realizing her own mistake during dinner and felt her cheeks burn, "I think we need to have a conversation on human customs versus those of dwarves. Walking into dinner with the guest of honor is the duty of the hostess. As your uncle is unmarried it falls to me or your mother." She sighed and gave him a weak smile. "Was I creating some sort of incident?" He looked back to the fire and she felt embarrassed. "I honestly didn't know, all this etiquette stuff has been taught to me so late in life and it seems it was all for not since your rules are so different."

Fili looked back at her with a worried expression but soon he showed her how tired he was himself, he rubbed his eyes, "Oh I'm an idiot, I wasn't thinking." He came close to her and reached for her hand. "You know, I think that must be why he did it, he's used to dealing with the race of men in a more formal way than I am. Formalities do not come so easily to me as you might think. Forgive me?"

Sigrid could tell he was still tense, but she gave his hand a squeeze hoping to reassure him. "I do, as long as if I'm creating a breach of Dwarvish etiquette just tell me. Don't stress the whole time. It would be so much easier for the both of us."

He nodded before really looking at her, she suddenly was aware of the situation she was in. She was sitting in a dimly lit room with her husband in nightclothes and her hair was down. She wasn't sure he had ever seen her hair down. She felt her heart race as he swallowed.

He suddenly pulled his hand away, turning back towards the fire. "I'll leave you to your sleep, I didn't realize you were so tired already."

"Already? It's almost midnight!"

He gave her the smirk, the crooked one he always used on her, the familiar crinkle of his eyes made her heart warm. It suited him better than the brooding look he had all night. If only it didn't look so forced. She looked closer and saw the mask he had been wearing for weeks slide right on like armor."You'll get used to the hours soon enough. Goodnight love."

He brushed her hair from her face, kissing the top of her head, and left through the front door. She assumed he would go back to the rest of the family but she wasn't sure. She was too tired and too confused to think of anything but her bed, feather soft and calling to her. So she made her way to her chambers wishing to sleep for days.