Hey y'all! SO sorry its been so long since I've updated this story! But I've found some time to sit down and write finally, so here ya go! Enjoy!

Chapter 25:

The rough, dusty floor scraped painfully against her scales as Thessa shifted positions to lean against the cell wall. How could he have just thrown her in here? He took her arm band, forced her tail to appear, and locked her up while they were busy tinkering away. She could hear the sounds of tools and stones moving and cracking from the echos on the cavernous walls, but she wasn't sure what Thorin was up to.

Her best guess was that he was trying to fix the gaping hole the dragon, Smaug, had left in the entrance to the mountain. Thessa looked around her cramped cage to see the decayed skeletons of rats, a thick layer of dust on every surface, and a humid and musty smell lingered in the air. The dirt and dust clung to her tail when she moved it around and she tried her best to rub it off.

Eventually her tail would dry out, and when it did she would regain her human legs and try to break out of this cell, one way or another.

The company was busy hauling stone and busting rocks to fill the gap in the wall that left the entirety of Erebor open to attack. Thorin had been shouting and demanding they work faster and harder as an hour or two passed.

Dwalin was looking for a spare length of rope to replace the one that had just snapped under the weight of an enormous piece of stone when he heard it. He heard an alluring melody echoing off the walls, and it was sweet sounding and sensuous at the same time. His eyes glazed over and his jaw went a little slack as he completely abandoned his task to follow the tempting sounds.

He stumbled clumsily over bits of rock and abandoned, broken equipment as he trudged up one of the stairways, apparently unseen by Thorin or the rest of the dwarves. His pace became quicker and more sure-footed as he heard the melody grow in volume. He passed the many chambers that lead to the old servants' quarters, passed the entrance to the forges, and zigzagged up and down stairs to reach the voice.

He could remember nothing in this world that he ever wanted more than to find the woman who sang the beautiful notes filling his ears and muddling his brain. Finally, he came upon the darkened corridor that led to the holding cells and quickly grabbed a torch to light his way.

Thessa heard the hurried steps and saw the beams of firelight bounding off the cave walls as someone approached. She continued humming the siren song as she brushed the remaining dust off of her now-human legs and stood up from the floor. A few seconds later, Dwalin was standing before her cell, an almost crazed look in his eyes, light shining off of his partially bald head. His chest heaved with effort as he gripped the bars of the cell and tugged on them uselessly.

"You have to find the keys, Dwalin," Thessa said in a sing-song voice, still slowly humming the sensuous melody that drew the dwarf to her. Dwalin seemed to understand and quickly whipped his head around, looking for the keys that would free her, but found none. He ran frantically up and down the corridor, poking his head into alcoves and other cells, but no dice.

He continued to search the surrounding part of the underground mountain for maybe an hour or so, and Thessa was worried that the effects of the song were wearing off as time marched on. Soon, Dwalin's absence would be noted by the others and they would come searching for him, and Thorin would most definitely be unhappy with her.

Another hour passed, and she knew that the spell had worn off and Dwalin was probably back to whatever he had been doing before she had lured him away. She sighed and slumped back to the ground, wondering what she could try next. She could hear faint sounds echoing off the walls that sounded different from the construction-like sounds of earlier. Perhaps the dwarves had moved on to a distant task. She began to count rat skeletons in the gloom out of boredom, but was quickly distracted from the task when fast footfalls and shadows on the walls approached her cell.

Dwalin appeared again, but this time his eyes were clear and he gave her a disapproving look. She opened her mouth to explain herself, or apologize, but Dwalin held up a callused hand to halt her.

"I don't blame ya for trying that, lassie," his gruff voice said. "But it did give me an idea." He glanced around, likely trying to peer through the shadowy halls to make sure no one was listening.

"I've spoken with Balin and we both decided that you should try that again."

"What?" Thessa asked, confusion evident on her face. Dwalin stepped closer to the bars and repeated himself in a hushed voice.

"Sing that song again, lass, but wait for the signal," he said quickly and then dashed back down the hallway.

"Wait!" Thessa shouted after him. "What signal?" She stood quickly and moved to grip the iron bars, trying to peer after the gruff dwarf and wondering what exactly they were up to.

Maybe twenty minutes went by before she heard another set of footsteps. She held her breath as she saw shadows bouncing on the glistening walls that made it appear as if someone was erratically waving a torch from the end of the corridor. Supposing that this was probably the signal Dwalin was referring to, Thessa stood in the middle of her cell and started to sing the sweet, sultry melody of the siren song. It's volume was amplified by the stone walls and carried to the person closest to her cell. She didn't know if this plan was going to work, or who they were wanting her to lure down here, but she trusted the two old dwarf brothers, and so she sang on.

Slow, heavy footfalls sounded on the stone floor and became louder and louder as they approached. Thessa hummed the sinister melody a little louder, hoping it would work better than her first attempt. The boots were just a few feet away now, and she didn't know who she had expected to appear, but it definitely wasn't the dwarf king.

Thorin's hooded eyes and dark features stood before the bars of the cell, his torch casting shadows over his face and obscuring part of it from view. His shoulders heaved up and down with the deep breaths he was taking, and Thessa hadn't realized that she had stopped singing. Obviously Balin and Dwalin suspected that Thorin had the keys to the cell, so she would have to give their leader proper incentive to open the door.

Thessa approached the bars that separated them slowly and opened her mouth again as the sensuous melody slipped once again from her lips. She could see his eyes now as she got closer and they looked glazed over as his fist gripped the torch's handle ever tighter.

"Thorin," she sang sweetly, adding his name into the tune to coax him further. She watched him distractedly plunge a hand into his pocket and pull out a dangling set of keys on a metal ring. He kept eye contact with her as he flipped through the keys until he decided he had found the one he was looking for. Thessa watched his hand hesitate as he was about to place the key into the lock, and so she called his name again and sang a little louder. This seemed to do the trick as he placed the piece of metal in the keyhole and slowly turned the key, the lock clicking as the tumblers shifted. The door slowly creaked open and Thessa let the soft melody slowly die on her lips, now that he had done what she needed.

However, even as silence filled the air between them, Thorin still had the dazed look in his eyes and took a heavy step toward her. Thessa backed up as he took another step forward, her back hitting the cold stone wall, and watched the dazed and blank look on the dwarf king's face morph into an almost predatory grin.

"Th-Thorin," She said shakily, not sure what to do now, seeing as she didn't know how Dwalin and Balin's plan was supposed to work exactly. He placed the torch in one of the metal holders on the wall and continued his advance, creeping forward slowly until he was mere inches from his One.

"Mine..." his gravelly voice whispered darkly as he brought a hand up to her cheek, running his fingers down her jaw. Thessa peered helplessly into his unseeing eyes, waiting for him to snap out of it, but it didn't look like that was going to happen. Ordinarily, if he was anyone else she wouldn't have hesitated to strike and throw him back to escape, but this was her soulmate in front of her. If she hurt him, what would happen to her? They had already established that if they were too far apart for too long, she would probably die.

Thorin closed the space between them and pressed his muscular torso against Thessa, his rough hands gripping hers and pulling them over her head to pin them against the stone wall. She took in a sharp breath as his pelvis thrust against her, causing a wave of heat to flow over her and that familiar tingling sensation to take root in the pit of her stomach. His eyes seemed even darker now, if that was even possible, and his face drew closer to her and dipped down to her neck, placing a hot, open-mouthed kiss just below her ear.

Thessa gasped at the sensation and felt her legs start to tremble slightly, causing Thorin to smirk against her skin and lave another wet kiss over the base of her jaw. He peppered slow kisses down the length of her neck, all the while holding her hands above them and pinning her lower half to the wall with his. Thessa could feel his desire pressing firmly against her and she suddenly wished to be out of this dress. It was getting very warm all of a sudden and she was thankful for the cool stone against her back.

He transferred both of her hands into one of his and used the now free hand to knead one of her breasts. She couldn't help the breathy moan that escaped her lips and her eyes fell closed and he massaged her gently, sucking at the skin of her collar bone and pressing his need firmly against her. Thessa was nearly panting now, legs trembling and heart racing from the dwarf king's ministrations. She wanted this to stop immediately, but also for it to never end at the same time.

Thorin abandoned her neck and crashed his lips over hers, causing her to gasp, which he took advantage of by slipping his tongue passed her lips to tangle with her own. He moved his free hand down to her thigh and forcefully hiked it up around his waist, changing the angle by which he could thrust his manhood against her throbbing core. Without exactly knowing what she was doing, Thessa swiftly brought her other leg up and wrapped it around his waist, Thorin quickly shifting his arm to support her weight, a low growl emanating from his throat.

His mouth slanted over hers with a ferocity she did not know he could possess and returned the gesture ten-fold. He groaned into her mouth and thrust up against her heat, causing her to break their kiss with a sharp intake of breath.

"Thorin!" she gasped breathlessly, that tingling sensation greater now than she had ever felt it before. He growled appreciatively upon hearing his name and bent his head to place burning kisses on the skin of her chest. He kept a steady rhythm, grinding himself against where she needed him most, and reclaimed her mouth once again. Thessa could hardly stand all the sensations and roughly yanked her hands out of his loosened grasp, and gripped the hair at the base of his head firmly. That seemed to change something in him and he moved to support her weight with both arms as he drew her away from the wall. Feeling brave, Thessa broke their heated kiss and placed gentle kisses under his jaw and down his neck. Thorin, meanwhile, had walked them out of the cell and into the corridor where it was slightly better lit and laid her roughly onto the stone floor.

She couldn't bring herself to care about the pain in her back as he lifted the skirts of her dress and settled himself between her thighs. She wrapped her legs around his waist again, continuing her trailing of kisses back up to his mouth. Thorin kissed her passionately once more before he moved lower to suck gently at the skin of her neck, hands sliding delicately up her exposed legs. She gripped his hair painfully and let out another breathy moan at the feelings he was stirring up inside her. Slowly, Thorin dropped lower and shifted down her body, his hungry eyes catching hers in the process. Thessa was shocked to find that his eyes, the once glazed-over, predatory eyes, were clear and mischievous looking as they peered up at her.

She might've said something to him about it if it weren't for the near scream of pleasure that ripped from her as she felt his tongue slide over her slick folds. She didn't truly even know what her anatomy looked like down there, but this was something she had never expected to feel. Thorin circled a very sensitive spot and sucked gently, causing her voice to rise higher and her screams echoed down the hallway. She panted as Thorin backed off a bit and pressed gentle kisses to her hip bones and inner thighs, running his finger tips lightly down her shivering legs.

"Thorin, please..." she nearly cried, not exactly knowing what it was she was asking for, but he seemed to understand just fine. A second later, another pleasurable scream escaped from her lungs as Thorin's tongue lapped at the sensitive skin and paid close attention the most sensitive area she had down there. That tingling feeling in the base of her stomach had built and built and built until it was the strongest it had ever been. It only took Thorin gently sucking on that little bundle of nerves for her to tip over the edge, calling his name and feeling the most euphoric sensation wash over her body.

She panted, her chest heaving and legs shaking, as she recovered from the life-altering experience. She opened her eyes to see the self-satisfied smirk on the face of the dwarf king as he knelt over her.

"Thessa," he whispered to her gently, searching her eyes with his.

"Thorin?" she sighed back, studying his face and finding no residual malice or confusion from earlier. "Are- Are you..?"

Thorin gave the mermaid a small smile and slowly nodded. "It's me."