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Hello again, and welcome to your Friday chapter!

FYI...the name Simek is pronounced "Sim-ek" the 'I' is short.

But really, how would I know what you called him? In fact, you could call him Bob for all I would know...or care. ha ha.

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Chapter 69

~X~

So, early the next morning, Bilbo and Dis walked the many steps to Ravenhill, the early spring air still chilly and cold. Yet the princess had seen the determination in the hobbit's eyes and she was willing to help with any plan that would keep Thorin safe inside Erebor.

When they arrived, there were dwarves already on duty, sending out ravens to scout the area, relaying messages to Dale and Esgaroth, and generally caring for the health and wellbeing of the large corvids. Theirs was a relationship based upon loyalty and mutual benefit, where the dwarves were given access to information and the ravens never lacked in food or shelter. It had worked well in the past, and it would continue to do so long into the future.

"Good morning, Yarvin," Dis greeted the dwarf who had been assigned as chief of the raven keepers. "We were wondering if we might speak with Lord Simek this morning."

"Of course, my lady," Yarvin bowed. "Simek has just returned from a flight to Dale, and is roosting over there." The dwarf then pointed to an exceptionally large bird, with piercing eyes and sleek black feathers. Simek had become the leader of the Erebor ravens after the death of his sire, Roäc.

"Thank you," Dis nodded, heading over with Bilbo in tow. When they approached, the raven turned and stared at them with a curious expression, cocking its head to the right while ruffling its feathers. "Greetings, mighty Simek," Dis said, bowing to him in respect. "We were hoping to speak with you on a matter of great importance."

"It must be significant indeed, to have the princess of Erebor do the asking in person," Simek noted, bobbing his head up and down. He then turned his eyes to Bilbo. "And who is this? I have not met this one before."

"Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit of the Shire, Your Majesty, at your service," the hobbit said in introduction, also bowing low at the waist in a show of honor to the bird.

"Hobbits indeed have large manners, if not large bodies," Simek replied, his voice sounding pleased, as well as slightly amused. "What might I do for the Lady Dis and Master Baggins?"

"Well," Bilbo began, stepping forward as he cleared his throat. "I was wondering just how far your kin could fly, and would they be able to locate a specific person?"

"We have flown from one end of Middle Earth to the other, when the need was great," Simek stated, cocking his head to the left this time. "As for finding someone…we would first need to know who we were looking for."

"The wizard called Gandalf the Grey," Bilbo informed him. "Also known as Tharkȗn to the dwarves, or Mithrandir to the elves."

"Ah, yes, the grey wizard is well known to us, as is the other Istar, Radagast the Brown," Simek informed Bilbo proudly. "Why do you seek him, little hobbit?"

"It is vital that I to get a message to him as soon as possible," Bilbo replied, taking no offense to the raven's use of the word little. He was well aware of Simek's impressive size, and obvious strength. "It is one of dire importance, and you and your flock are the only ones who might be able to find him in time."

"Gandalf can usually be found in a few likely places, or at least we might gain word to his current whereabouts there," Simek mused, ruffling his feathers and shifting his weight from one foot to the other where he was perched. "I will send my strongest flyer to search for the wizard. Do you have a verbal message or a written one?"

"Written, if you please," Bilbo said, holding up a piece of paper, rolled and tied with a string.

"Give it to Yarvin and he will see that it is attached to the leg of the one I will send," the raven instructed. "We will do all we can to see that your letter is delivered."

"Thank you, Simek," Dis said with a bow of her head. "You and your brethren have never failed us, and we value your aid in all matters."

"It is an honor to serve alongside the sons and daughters of Durin," Simek told her. "Go in peace."

After handing over the message to Yarvin, Bilbo and Dis headed back inside the mountain.

"Do you think it will work?" Dis asked, having already heard the hobbit's entire plan.

"If anyone can do it, Gandalf can," the Bilbo said assuredly. "Assuming the letter finds him in time…or at all."

"I thank you for trying, Bilbo no matter what happens, you have my gratitude for that," Dis told him. "I would go to any length to see my brother safe, even if it meant accompanying him to the Shire myself to see it done. Although, it would pain me greatly not to be present for the birth of my second grandchild."

"Let's hope it does not come to that," Bilbo sighed. While he had long wished for Thorin, and the rest of the company, to visit him once again in Bag End, he knew that if there was danger stirring in Mordor, now was not the best time. He only hoped that the ravens could locate Gandalf in time.

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Meanwhile, Thorin and Dwalin were sequestered in the royal study, sharing a stout ale as they spoke.

"You know full well that it is a dangerous time for you to travel," Dwalin told him, downing his mug and pouring himself another one. "Why must you persist in this foolish idea?"

"Travel is never safe, and I don't see it getting any better in the near future," Thorin reasoned. "Yet my mind is made up. I will take along a contingency of dwarves, the best fighters you have, as you say, so there is no need to worry."

"Yet worry I will, until you and Marigold are safely back inside the mountain," his war chief huffed. "It has long been my duty, and privilege, to be your shield, Thorin. Being left behind does not sit well with me at all."

"I know, and I thank you for your concern, dear friend," the king said with a smile of gratitude. "We have been through a lot together. Orc raids, capture by goblins, spider attacks, a dragon…and don't even get me started on the elves."

"Ehhhh, they ain't so bad," Dwalin said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Don't get me wrong, I would still rather spit in their eye as say how do you do, but after seeing them fight beside us against Azog…well, I think I can cut them some slack."

"Gandalf says he feels I have grown in my tolerance since then as well, that I am coming to accept Thranduil and his kind as my allies," Thorin said with a huff. "And while I too can appreciate their fighting skills, that does not mean I have come to fully trust them. Not with my life, or those I care about, anyway."

"Like you said, dwarves are slow to change…and yet, I have seen more take place in the past ten years than I ever thought possible. And all of it thanks to you," the war chief told the king, shaking his head in wonder. "The days of us hiding inside our mountains are long gone, we have become part of this world, and are expected to interact with its inhabitants, or so it would seem."

"Just as long as Bard continues to serve as a go-between with me and Thranduil, then I think we can maintain peaceful relations with the elves," Thorin insisted.

"Aye, Bard is a good lad, and so is his son, Bain," Dwalin noted, grinning a bit as he thought of the king and his children. "The young prince is turning out to be a rather strapping lad, and that Tilda…well, she is a spitfire, no doubt."

"Do you know that Bard once spoke with me about his older daughter's affections for Fili?" Thorin asked, a humorous look crossing his face.

"NO!" This was news to Dwalin.

"Yes," Thorin laughed, enjoying the shocked look on his cousin's face. "After much deliberation, we both agreed that the match would not be wise, their lifespans being so different, and all, not to mention the height issue. But I have to admit, I did consider it for a moment or two. A marriage alliance would have strengthened our ties with Dale."

"What did Fili have to say about it?" the bald warrior asked, not imagining the news would have gone over well.

"I never told him," Thorin admitted. "It all happened during his bout of depression over the trouble with that wretched Bina, and after Sier had disappeared. My nephew had made it perfectly clear that he was not interested in even looking at a dam, much less wishing to court anyone. And like I said, Bard and I agreed that it was not a good match, and so there was no need to inform Fili. Besides, while I knew he had always been fond of Bard's daughters, it was obvious that neither Fili nor Kili held any romantic feelings for them." He then got an amused look on his face and began to chuckle. "Yet, if I am being completely honest, my main reason for having been against the match was the fact that Sigrid was not a dwarrowdam. Oh, I know it has been done before, a dwarrow taking a daughter of men as a wife, but I did not wish for Fili to suffer through any stigma over the pairing, or for his children to be disqualified from taking the throne after him. And now…look at me, eagerly waiting to bind myself to a hobbit lass. Oh, how things have changed."

"Aye…and for the better if you ask me. And while I always found Sigrid to be a fine lass," Dwalin said, thinking back to when Bard's oldest daughter still resided in Dale. "I believe Fili managed to find his perfect mate in Sier. Even if their relationship started off a bit rocky."

"A bit rocky?" This caused Thorin to bark out a laugh. "That is an understatement if I ever heard one! But I must agree with you about Sier. Fili could not have chosen better. And what a treasure that little Flinn has turned out to be."

"Soon there will be a new little one as well," Dwalin reminded him.

"Two little ones!" Thorin added, giving his kinsman a wink.

"Aye…and I couldn't be more pleased," he laughed, a proud smile spreading over his face. "The only thing that would make me happier, however, is if you would cancel this trip to the Shire, and just marry the lass here."

"Well, that is not going to happen," Thorin said with a heavy sigh.

"I can't believe that Marigold would insist upon such a journey if she knew the dangers it posed, to you and all concerned," he said with a shake of his bald head.

"She wouldn't," Thorin admitted. "And that is why I am not telling her! I have one chance to start my marriage off on a good note, Dwalin. And I will not sabotage it by not being willing to put forth a little effort to make Marigold's dreams come true. It might sound foolish, and perhaps a bit selfish on my part, but my mind is made up."

"Aye, I can see that," Dwalin nodded, though apparently still very unsettled by the idea. "Yet what kind of friend, or cousin, would I be if I did not at least attempt to talk some sense into you?"

"The kind I would actually like to have around?" Thorin suggested.

"Oi, you wound me, cousin!" Dwalin moaned, placing his fist over his heart in mock pain. "And all I was trying to do was help you."

"Like you were trying to help when you lied to me, tricking me into believing that the whole mountain was against my taking Marigold as my wife?" Thorin asked, narrowing his eyes at his cousin. "I still have not fully forgiven you for that little ruse, you know."

"It was not my fault!" Dwalin adamantly claimed. "Bergie cooked the whole things up, and I only repeated what she told me to say. And it worked too! Got you to speak the words your lass needed to hear. You should be thanking me!"

"I should sic Fili and Kili on you with instructions to prank you within an inch of your life. That would teach you a lesson or two!" Thorin countered, looking as if he thought that idea was quite fitting. "However, speaking of pranks," Thorin added, a sly grin coming to his lips, "I find myself in need of some help."

"Help?" the warrior set his mug down and leaned forward, eyeing Thorin with interest. "How so?"

"I have a plan to finally get even with Kili," Thorin revealed. "That scamp has gone too long without retribution for dousing me with that bucket of water. I would have done it sooner, but things have been a bit…well, preoccupied, you might say. But I have allowed him to suffer in fear and anticipation long enough…now it is time to act."

"Ah, yes," Dwalin nodded, a wicked smile emerging from behind his mustache and beard. "Count me in."

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Marigold, who was completely oblivious of all this plotting going on within the mountain, had just knocked at Bergie's chambers, eagerly awaiting her answer. When the door opened, the young hobbit did not say a word, but simply walked right in.

"Well, good afternoon to you too," Bergie laughed, shutting the door and following the troubled looking lass to the sofa. "What's got you in such a dither?"

"Dis!" Marigold informed her in a worried tone. "She has invited me to tea, after dinner tonight."

"So I hear, for she has invited me as well," her aunt nodded, still waiting for the upsetting part. "Have you suddenly developed an aversion to tea…or perhaps Dis?"

"No, of course not…but why does she want to talk to me? What is her motive?" the younger lass asked.

"How would I know, I am only going for the tea and biscuits she promised," Bergie laughed, patting her stomach as if to reassure the baby growing within that she had not forgotten its apparent need for constant nourishment. But seeing that her niece was truly fretting, she sobered quickly. "Now, Mari, I am sure it is nothing more than a wish to get to know her future sister-in-law better…or to ask if you have any questions about your future role as queen? It could be any number of things, but I am certain it is nothing to get worked up about."

"Really?" Marigold asked, looking up hopefully.

"Really!" Bergie nodded resolutely. "Dis is a perfectly lovely dam, and I have never known her to be anything but cordial and kind." She then got an amused look on her face, and added, "Well, at least to us hobbits, but I would not wish to be on the receiving end of a few tirades I have seen her aim at Thorin."

"At Thorin? Why on earth would she have cause to yell at him?" Marigold looked shocked.

"Over some of the stupid things he did while trying to court you," Bergie laughed. "Like setting your wedding date without actually proposing first, the flowers debacle, and several more instances that I am sure you were completely unaware of. Trust me, there was a whole conspiracy going on behind your back, all in an attempt to get you two lovebirds together."

"What?" she gasped. "You mean that everyone was involved?"

"Well, everyone that mattered," Bergie shrugged. "Mostly just the company, and a good number of us hobbits as well. Everyone wanted to see you two as an official couple, and they were more than willing to aid in that endeavor any way they could. You really should be flattered that the dwarves thought you so right for their king."

"It would appear I have more than you and Dwalin to thank for all this, then," Marigold chuckled, really rather touched by the idea.

"Yes, but if I had not stepped in and got that thick headed dwarf of yours to cough up the right words, well, there is no telling where we would be now," Bergie laughed, feeling rather proud of herself.

"Well I, for one, would be a lot less happy, that much I can tell you," Marigold nodded. "So everyone really thinks that Thorin and I are a good match?"

"Well, you are guaranteed that the dwarves who were in on this do, since that whole 'one' thing is a big deal to them. As far as they are concerned, you are his perfect, and only, mate. The hobbits are just happy for the both of you, I think they see you two as well suited for each other. Besides, from what I have learned over the past few months, there is very little difference between dwarves and hobbits…at least where it counts."

"Oh?" Marigold's eyes widened in surprised wonder. "Really?"

"I meant emotionally!" Bergie laughed, realizing that Marigold had obviously misunderstood her words. But then she got a sly look on her face. "However, as long as we are on the subject…there are not many differences in that department either. And now that you are engaged to a dwarf yourself, are there any questions you might like to ask about dwarrow physiology?"

"Bergie!" Marigold blushed, looking down at her hands in embarrassment.

"Well, wouldn't you prefer to benefit from my experience, and not end up red faced and fumbling around on your wedding night?" Bergie asked in all seriousness. "I mean, there is something to be said for letting nature take its course, but wouldn't it be nice if at least one of you knew what you were doing…even if only a little? Thorin has never done this before either, you know, although something tells me he is not completely ignorant to what is to take place on your wedding night."

"Oh…" was all the stunned hobbit lass could say, as she appeared to be thinking this over very carefully. "Was…was Dwalin…um…a bit awkward on your first night?"

"Well, I wouldn't say he was all thumbs, but there was a bit of a learning curve for us both," she mused, a dreamy smile crossing her face. "But we managed quite nicely in spite of it all. And since then, things just keep getting better and better!"

"Oh, Bergie, I don't know if I am ready for this," Marigold moaned, leaning forward and burying her beet-red cheeks in her palms. "I mean, I love Thorin and I did find watching him fight the other day to be very…very…"

"Arousing?" Bergie filled in.

"Yes. Very!" Mari nodded. "But the idea of being intimate with Thorin is rather daunting. He is so…male…so strong and virile…what if I am not as adventurous as he is…you know, in bed?"

"Oh, sweetie," the older lass chuckled, shaking her head in amusement. "What do you think he will want to do, swing from the ceiling?" Moving a bit closer she placed her arm around her niece's shoulders in a comforting fashion. "Listen, when you love someone enough to marry them, like you apparently love Thorin, your biggest goal in life becomes the desire to please them. Yet that works both ways, and Thorin will want just as much to please you as well. He would never ask anything of you that you are not willing to give or try. Granted, it will take you both a little time to find out what the other one likes…or dislikes, but don't overthink it. And if you get nervous…talk to him. You might just learn that he is as worried as you are."

"Oh, I don't know about that, Thorin always seems so confident, so in control," Mari said with a shake of her head. "I can't imagine him ever being nervous about anything."

"Trust me, dwarrow are no different than any other race," Bergie assured her. "All males experience the same emotions we do, they are just better at hiding it, is all. It is part of that stubborn streak of theirs, and not solely reserved for dwarves alone. You will learn to see past his mask of assurance and be able to read Thorin's emotions soon enough. Physical bonding helps with that…for when you two are alone, in bed, with nothing between you but a thin sheet, there is no way he can hide what he is feeling."

Marigold couldn't help but giggle like a school girl at the mental image Bergie's words invoked. Her and Thorin…naked together? That was both exciting and terrifying at the same time…and she couldn't wait!

"I do want that closeness…I do!" Mari began to blush a bit more, looking away once again. "Is it wrong that sometimes he is all I can think about, and not exactly in a very platonic fashion either?"

"Oh, I think it is never wrong to have such thoughts about the one you love…just make sure they remain only thoughts until after you say your vows," Bergie warned. "But a little bit of daydreaming never hurt a bride-to-be. After all, being physically attracted to your mate is a very, very wonderful thing."

"And I am…believe me," Marigold grinned. "I mean have you seen the way he just stands there, so confident and sure of himself? Or how he walks, as if he would never falter. And what about his muscles…or his eyes…oh, Bergie, I could go on and on!"

"I am sure you could, just as I could write a book about the wonders of Dwalin's lips alone!" She chuckled. "I think it is safe to say, that you and Thorin will have no troubles at all in the bedroom department, just as long as you both take it slow and concentrate on making each other happy."

"He has already made me the happiest hobbit in Middle Earth, I can't imagine how it could get any better than this," Marigold sighed contentedly, closing her eyes.

"Just wait, my dear…just wait," Bergie grinned wickedly. Oh, her niece had so many wonderful things in store for her.

Ok, Marigold just had her little sex talk...wonder when Thorin will get his. ha ha. And I wonder who will give it...hopefully not DIS! ha ha ha ha ha

So, are you all more clear on what Bilbo is planning? No? Well good, it is meant to be a secret. ha ha.

Sooooo, what did you think of Thorin and Dwalin's talk? And the notion that he had a chance to hook Fili and Sigrid up?

Oh no! Thorin's making plans to get even with poor Kili! Dwarves have long memories and hold grudges...that is for sure. What was the line at the start of the movie... "And he never forgave, and he never forgot." ha ha. This should prove to be very interesting, hee hee.

Guest Reviews:

Where have a lot of my lovely guest reviewers gone? I miss you!

abc: You are very welcome. Thank YOU for reviewing! Yes, Mordor is a threat...and will continue to be until the end of the Lord of the Rings (which I will not be writing about, by the way). But do not fear, I have things well in hand. And I would never bring our boys back to life only to KILL them again! Sheesh, what kind of monster do you take me for, ha ha. Thanks!

Aranel Mereneth: Thorin is a Durin...evil is always after them. But I will protect our boy...mostly. ha ha. And yes, Thorin is a GREAT uncle...just love him.