***************...*************
***************...*************
A maiden's greatest fear
"These are Herlígur, Snorri, Viljormur, Rathsar and Motin. They are all blacksmiths and wanted to work the hammer again. Do you mind me bringing them down here?" Balin asked.
Thorin barely raised his eyes from his work and looked fleetingly at the newcomers, "By all means, all the working stations apart from this one have been empty for centuries. Make you pick," he said and looked back at the detailed carving of his dragon hilt.
"Herlígur, Viljormur and Rathsar are Dain's soldiers, and they asked specifically to remain and work in Erebor from now on," Balin said proudly.
"It is an immense pleasure to see people returning to their roots," Thorin said quietly and continued his work. His skin was glistening from sweat, but this time his hair was pulled back with several hair beads keeping his brow clear and undisturbed.
"Uzbad, we would like to bring over our families," Viljormur took a step forth and kneeled in front of him.
Thorin offered him a proud look, "of course."
"Thank you," the man touched his fist on his heart and moved back.
Balin showed the other two men, "Motin and Snorri have arrived with the immigration inflow which was rather intense during the last three days."
The men looked at each other sheepishly and kneeled down, "thank you for taking us in. The news of the Longbeards reclaiming Erebor had reached far. Many people are trying to return here", Snorri said.
"Your clan?" Thorin asked without honouring him with a glance.
"Stiffbeards from Orocarni, but my family migrated to the Grey mountains long ago. After the fall of Moria they came to Erebor and after it fell…we ended up in villages that were spread in the mountains."
"Welcome home," Thorin said and blew away the metal residue on the hilt to see the design better.
"Thank you my Lord, may I ask for something?" Snorri asked shyly.
Thorin nodded.
"My wife is a very good cook and would like to be stationed in the kitchens to help out. Maybe she can cook meals for you?"
"I've got a maiden, but I am sure Balin will find a place for you wife. No hands are to be idle inside this city if it is to be rebuild again," Thorin offered him a quick look.
Snorri bowed to the ground and pulled his friend from the sleeve to do the same, "Thank you my Lord," they said.
Balin led them away from Thorin slowly, "choose any station you wish for. I am sure that there are many broken hammers, axes and swords that need repair," he said with a smile as the men left, conversing between them quietly about how majestic this huge cavern looked.
Then Balin returned to Thorin and stood with his arms crossed above his anvil, "Masterful craftwork."
Thorin hummed.
"The blade is slightly curvier than usual. It's like a mix between elven and dwarven blades. Rather unusual design for you. Are you contesting with them who does it better?" Balin's voice was lively.
"I'd enter any such contest with pleasure," he rejoined confidently.
"And probably win with so much experience in your hands. What gem have you placed for the dragon's eye?" Balin's eyes cringed as he tried to make it out.
"One of the unused elven gems," Thorin said nonchalantly.
Balin's mouth dropped open, "well….very unexpected choice, but matches the design of the dragon immaculately"
"Goal is nothing less than perfect."
"Blade balance?" Balin asked critically.
Thorin picked it up and balanced it on his finger. Then he tossed it in the air and when it landed on his finger it balanced perfectly once more.
Balin smiled in satisfaction, "Perfect, but not finished yet."
Thorin shook his head, "no."
"That means that you will be buried here longer still…" Balin left the tail of the sentence to float in the air.
Thorin grasped it quickly and crushed it down to earth, "what do you want me to do? Brood over everyone's business? Lay in bed? Or sit in that haunted office and read my father's endless scrolls about how to run this city?"
Balin sighed, "You could go to the throne room and control everyone from there? Like you should have done from the beginning?"
"Don't patronise me," the hard retort.
"I am advising, as I always did," Balin continued calmly.
"I can control everything from down here very well," Thorin offered him a dark glance.
"I am well aware," Balin agreed.
"Then why do you mention the throne room? Just to annoy me?"
Balin inhaled patiently, "because that is where you belong laddie. Like it or not"
"I don't like it," he spat through gritted teeth and placed his tools down feeling his muscles weary, "but that doesn't mean I will ran this city less effectively".
"I don't worry about that, at all" Balin shook his head.
"Then all this has to do with your damn obsession with etiquette? Like me wearing the raven crown?" Thorin tilted his head and fixed his eyes on his friend.
"I am worried about you," Balin frowned.
"you are always worried about me," Thorin dismissed his and wiped his sweat away with a clean cloth.
"Even though you have taken command of the city very soon after waking up and things are running smoothly, I see a latent need to remain out of the spotlight Thorin."
"Your problem is me being out of the spotlight or the gem above my throne? You are talking about the Arkenstone," he said and wiped the hilt with a clean cloth carefully.
"The Arkenstone that belongs above your throne in your throne room, and you that belongs on that throne…You are all interlinked for Mahal's sake! Today we've had two crows coming in, from the Firebeards and the Broadbeams. We have four clans already answering to your call along with the Dain's IronHills who are here already. They are all sending over their lords and masters to swear an oath to your kingship under the King's gem." Balin said passionately.
"I am well aware."
"Where is the King's gem then?" Balin threw his hands in the air.
"and where is your patience?" Thorin's voice warned.
"Wanna know what I think?" Balin drew back and crossed his arms.
"No, but you will enlighten me anyway", Thorin sighed patiently.
"You don't want the Arkenstone back in your possession."
Balin's words caused Thorin's eyes to blaze towards the intricate hilt and his brows to come together in a dark frown.
"Am I wrong?" Balin continued.
Thorin glowered at his friend but didn't answer.
Balin cupped his forehead defeated, "I knew it, listen…"
Thorin cut him off, "I don't want it, but I will get it"
Balin drew back, "You think you will fall for it again?"
Thorin crossed his arms and released his foot from the bellows, "Yes, I am." His simple and honest answer shook Balin who sat upon the anvil.
"After all you've been through? You have conquered this damned sickness my friend."
"I won't know unless I take this thing in my hands, and I am not in a hurry to do that," Thorin admitted.
Balin opened his mouth to speak, but Thorin spoke over him again.
"But the Arkenstone shall return in these halls, despite my own personal hell with it".
Balin nodded in understanding and caressed his long beard, "I will do everything in my power to help you through this laddie."
Thorin closed his eyes with a soft smile, "I know."
Balin smiled, "I thought you were going to make my life hell about it. You know deny me, dismiss me, avoid to talk about it. Thankfully I was mistaken", the relief was obvious in his eyes.
"Why would I avoid to talk about what's bothering me so much to you Balin...You practically know everything about me. What grass have you been smoking tell me..." he hesitated and then cringed and rubbed his forehead, "If it's Gandalf's old Toby please share, because I am on edge all the time".
Balin laughed heartily, "I guess I didn't judge this correctly. Now as to what I am on, I'll tell you. Not grass but food. You know the tasty roots, vegetables and meat we cook and then place in our mouths and chew down to our bellies? The thing you have been avoiding and you are slowly losing weight? Which is something that a strong muscle system like yours, cannot afford!"
Thorin looked at Balin's rather plump belly and raised his brow, "you want to fatten me up?"
"I want to sustain you laddie," Balin sobered up.
Thorin passed his hand from his hair tiredly, "I will try, okay?"
"Is your stomach still giving you trouble? Oin told me the wound is healing up nicely, but internally it will need much longer. He thinks he can remove some of the stitches in a couple of days to allow you some freedom of movement".
"When I ride it's bothering me and when I try to train it's giving me hell, but nothing I cannot handle."
"You've been out training? You know it's too soon. Dwalin didn't tell me anything," Balin frowned critically.
"He doesn't know. I am on it alone," Thorin's lips twitched.
Balin raised his brow, "I think you need someone to accompany you. If you don't want Dwalin, chose someone from the army".
Thorin looked up, "speaking of which, where you in the dining room this morning?"
Balin nodded, "everyone but you was there."
"Was that lieutenant sitting with my sister again?"
Balin felt his shoulders slouching, "yes."
Thorin gathered himself, "Inform him that I wish to have a word".
Balin lips drew thin, "he is in trouble isn't he?"
Thorin nodded, "Most definitely".
Balin looked around thoughtfully, "he looks like a decent man."
"Looks can be deceiving."
"Very well laddie. Now what about your food. You must eat something, please," Balin's eyes looked concerned.
"Fine, bring me down whatever is available," Thorin shook his head.
"Should I tell Eilin to bring what she cooked this morning?" Balin's voice held a very discreet tone that made Thorin look up curiously.
"Surely you must know that I have told her to return to the service of my sister for a couple of days now."
"Yet you said to that man that you have a maiden," came the retort.
"Because I don't want another one thrown in my lap, thank you very much," Thorin shook his head and picked up his chisel again.
"Thank heavens," Balin exhaled.
At that Thorin looked up again and his brow clouded, "what for?"
"That this girl will remain away from you. I might be an old man misreading things, but I saw something more than what propriety orders between you and her, and that worries me".
Thorin felt suddenly irritated and he didn't know why, "Meaning?"
"That night at the river…" Balin began.
"You've bothered me about that evening more than once and I told you that I simply had a nice conversation with this girl. It was just a pleasant break, but even if it was more than that, why would I have to answer to you or anyone for it?" Thorin clouded dangerously.
"You know I would never get in the middle of your love affairs," Balin said, "But…"
"Because there was only ever one and you learned about it long after it was over. Now go on," Thorin said dryly.
Balin leaned his hands on the anvil, "Thorin this girl is beautiful I know. Bofur knows and several soldiers too. We are not blind. She is uncommonly pretty and alluring, but she is also a maiden. Luck threw her into the lap of your sister and then she ended up next to you. If it wasn't for that lucky break you wouldn't have known she existed. You are worlds apart. She is not a woman you must get involved with. Leave her for Bofur. They are a match made in heaven. Haven't you noticed how they look at each other?"
Thorin felt his heart firing up, "Oh you are out to piss me off."
"Do my words piss you off?" Balin frowned critically.
Thorin gritted his teeth.
"Maybe they do because you want out of this girl something more than just chit chat and you feel jealous," Balin threw at him.
"Still I don't know why I have to answer to you for that…" Thorin replied angrily.
Balin leaned forwards, "I will ask you clearly. Do you like her?"
"Sure, she's a pleasant girl," Thorin raised his brow, "inside her awkwardness".
"No, you are not getting away so easily. Thorin do you fancy her?" Balin said angrily.
Thorin's eyes thinned and there was a warning spark hidden in them, but his mouth upturned in sly smile.
Balin struck his palm on the anvil, "damn you!"
"Calm down!" Thorin's voice fell like a hammer.
Balin turned around, "I wouldn't have cared if we were back in the Blue mountains, but here in Erebor, where you have to unite the seven families under your command, things are a bit more difficult. You have to think clearly!"
"You remind me so much of my father right now that you are rising a hell inside me," Thorin's voice dropped.
"I am trying to protect the throne of Erebor, from wrong choices," Balin said.
"So did he," Thorin's eyes looked thunderous.
"There are things about her you don't know. Things that would raise the hair on the back of your neck," Balin pressed on.
"Something more important than her lowly status?" Thorin said sarcastically.
Balin drew back, "I didn't want to discuss such personal details, but you are giving me no choice. I have to shake you to your senses. This girl is unfortunately damaged goods. She's been raped."
Thorin's face sobered up and his eyes dilated, "What?"
Balin rubbed his forehead, "poor creature I am sad to say has been raped."
"by dwarves?" Thorin's voice sounded dangerously deep.
"No...lesser men. No good low lives, probably travellers from the dark lands".
His head lifted up loftily and his eyes spat the very fires of hell onto Balin.
"You don't want to get involved with her for more than one reasons don't you see? Status wise, none of the seven families will accept their King messing around with his maiden. Ethically wise, this girl is damaged. It was not her fault and I am not accusing her of anything. She was a poor victim, but still you cannot. You mustn't! There are other men of great value that can offer her the happiness she deserves. Like Bofur", Balin reasoned.
"So you are telling me all this to protect the throne of Erebor, correct?" Thorin's lips turned down disgusted.
"As I always did. Will you heed my advice?" Balin looked highly troubled, by the coldness with which Thorin was dealing with this shocking new piece of information.
Thorin's head tilted slightly in a move that could have been mistaken either way.
Balin not at all certain of Thorin's intentions decided that it was time to pull back his claws, "At least you have taken her off your service. That's a step to the right direction."
Thorin leaned back and crossed his arms, "What about my food?"
Balin's face brightened up with a cautious smile, "Very well, I will bring it down laddie."
"Tell Eilin to bring it," his voice fell deep and Balin paled.
"No, Thorin…please," he attempted.
"Tell my reinstated maiden to bring me the food Balin. Thank you," he said casually and returned to his work on the hilt with an air that dismissed any further rebukes.
Balin rubbed his eyes and exhaled exasperated, "your stubbornness will be your downfall this time for certain," he muttered as he turned to leave.
Thorin's eyebrow rose to the ceiling, but he didn't look up from his work, "if you hadn't tried so hard to resemble my father, things might have gone your way."
Balin stopped with his back turned, "If you are doing this as an act of rebellion against your dead father, know that you are endangering the throne of this stronghold to Dain."
"Fili comes before him", his eyes rose in a glare of forewarning and his next words froze Balin's blood. "Besides I might be willing to risk this bloody throne for much deeper reasons than a simple rebellion".
Balin closed his eyes in defeat and nodded, "Very well laddie. I cannot do anything more. I will tell your maiden to bring your food."
"Thank you," Thorin said and offered Balin's back a sad look that his friend missed.
"Just be careful," Balin send above his shoulder quietly.
"Always," Thorin whispered at himself and returned to work on his sword, never forgetting the words of Balin. Especially what he said about the fate of that girl in the hands of men. He used the adrenaline that had saturated his blood to forge the blade of his sword smooth like a mirror. Long after he began carving the runes of it's name, in self-assured strikes, did his blood began cooling down. Just when his work emptied all his emotions and thoughts once more, the voice of Eilin brought everything to the foreground with a vengeance.
"My Lord, Mister Balin told me to bring your food," she said.
He looked up and for the first time his eyes looked at her under a different light. Balin's tries to protect the throne only served as a stepping stone for Thorin to observe her much more carefully than he would have done after that night at the river if things had been left alone. Partially free from the pain of his wound and mildly calmer from the loss of his nephew, he caught himself checking her out. Needing to validate what it was that Bofur had seen in her...but above all what he had seen in her that night at Ravenhill, that night at the training grounds and above all that night at the river.
"Leave it at the anvil," he said calmly.
She approached and left him a tray that had a plate of roasted meat and some potatoes along with a bottle of ale and a wooden cup, "Do you need anything else my Lord?"
He returned to carving the runes on the blade more because he needed to recompose himself, than anything else, "Did Balin inform you about the new order of things?"
She nodded, "He said I was reinstated at your service."
"Do you have a problem with that?"
"Of course not my Lord."
"Will you be able to handle the load from me and my sister?"
"Of course my Lord".
He nodded quietly, "Very well, If there isn't anything else you can go".
She cleared her throat and closed her eyes to take on courage, "May I be allowed to speak to you about something that ails me deeply my Lord?"
"Certainly".
After several moments where she was messing with the edge of her flared sleeves, the internal debate in her mind was finally settled and she decided to speak out her concerns, "I believe that the Gods blessed me with the opportunity to be once again in your presence my Lord. Therefore please allow me to offer my deepest apologies and to thank you for giving me a second chance to mend things".
"Apologise about what?" He looked up with a confused frown.
"For offending you", she pressed her lips regretfully .
"When did that happen?"
Her fingers twisted on her skin and he noticed, "That drunken night at the river shore…" she felt her voice diminishing.
Thorin's head tilted slowly in realisation, "Oh, I see. How did you come to the conclusion that I was offended by you that evening?"
She bit her lower lip and kept looking at the cracks of the intricate geometrical patterns of the floor, "you dismissed me off your service the very next morning" she muttered feeling her heart palpitating.
A small smile appeared on his lips that she didn't see, "Has this been eating you up, since then?"
She nodded quickly and felt her eyes welling.
"Is that why I didn't see you anywhere? Where you hiding from me?" He continued calmly.
Another nod, "I am sorry if I offended you that night my Lord. It was the alcohol in my body. I am not used to it. I spoke way too freely to you and I shouldn't have. I didn't act according to propriety towards the King… and mister Balin…"
"Did Balin speak to you?" His voice turned a tone darker.
She looked up quickly, "no, of course not, but I saw how he looked at me. I shouldn't have been there. I shouldn't have talked to you this way. I am sorry".
He leaned over his work again, but the smile never left his lips, "The only thing that bothered me that night is that unfinished sentence from you, when you ran away".
She closed her eyes tight and bit her lower lip, "It was a slip of the tongue".
"It sounded painful", he looked up from his sword.
She felt her face paling and her neck crawling with fear, "You are not the only one suffering from nightmares, Sir".
He nodded, "Your words pointed clearly at that".
"My Lord, if my attitude was not offensive, then why did you dismiss me from your service the next morning?" She spoke after a long silent moment that she was aching to know the truth.
"The deal with my sister was to keep you until my nephew's burial. I overlapped it for a couple of days, which was not nice on my part", he said nonchalantly.
"That's it?!" She deflated feeling a ton of weight lifted from her shoulders.
"Sit," he showed her the anvil, "before you collapse. Yes, that's it. You can put your guilt at rest. You've done nothing wrong".
She did as she was told and looked down at his sword as he began working on it again, "Thank you Sir. It's the greatest relief to know that I have not failed you", she said and wiped away her eyes.
He shook his head, "Of course you haven't".
She nodded and her eyes left the sword and checked the muscles of his forearms as he hammered the runes carefully onto the blade. Then up to his sweaty tunic, his half revealed muscular shoulder and then at his hair that were pulled away from his face, revealing his pointy ear with a golden ear-ring on top. She gulped a whole bout of unease in her lower stomach and her fingers picked up a small chisel and began channeling her nervousness through fidgeting, "that's beautiful, Sir".
"I didn't intend for it to become so intricate, but sometimes the hand chooses what to carve instead of the mind," he said absently as his work had drawn him easily back in again.
"It is absolutely breathtaking. Have you been working the anvil for long?" She asked and pressed the pointy edge of the tool on her forefinger, enjoying the pressure on her skin. Needing something to ground her to their talk instead of drifting off to the impossibility of this situation.
"A little less than two centuries," he said casually.
Her mouth dropped open and she gasped.
"I am a bit ancient and if that is not enough to scare you away, I don't know what will be," he smiled lightly.
She bit her lower lip, "Doesn't scare me away at all".
"Good", he tilted his head.
"How come you decided to work this trade?" She frowned and leaned over to observe his impeccable use of the sharp tools as he carved the tiniest details out of the runes on the blade.
"Thrain gave us a choice of trade when we became of age, at fifteen or something…I don't remember", he waved his hand absently, "I admired our blacksmiths since I was old enough to understand what they were doing. My mother said that when I was a baby she brought me down to these very forging stations in Erebor and even though I was crying myself blue because I was teething, the moment I heard a hammer falling on the anvil I stopped and looked up mesmerised. After that point whenever I was having a crying fit she brought me down here and I always calmed down. I still use this trade to calm down…two hundred years later", he smiled and returned his attention to the blade.
"But why did you have to learn a trade? I mean you are royals, you don't need to have a trade. You command whole cities of gold", she looked at him with unhidden admiration.
He offered her a quick look, "No that's not how dwarven families work. Everyone must choose a trade and perfect it, no matter if they are lords, soldiers or simple workmen. My grandfather used to say -learn a trade and use it to feed your family in times of need-. This trade fed my family when we went in exile. It provided us with the essentials for many years when we lived in the Dunlands outcasts and poor, much like yourself".
"Princess Dis?" She frowned.
"She is an amazing embroider", he smirked slyly.
She drew in her lips thoughtfully, "I shouldn't always get so surprised at how empathetic you and your sister are my Lord, towards me. You both know what it feels like to live on the road with no roof above your head and no food in your stomach".
He smiled, "I know the difficulties, yes".
She nodded heavily.
"Haven't you learned any trades back at the tavern then? Anything to sustain you outside of it?" He looked up briefly.
"All the things I am doing for you and your sister now. I can cook, saw, clean, plow the earth -of which I am very good at-, I've worked as a trader for my tavern when I was growing vegetables and sold them over at Bree, I've worked the stables and I can milk cows, sheeps and goats as well as groom horses and rams -but I have a difficulty with pigs, they don't seem to like me- and also I can do a bit of hunting".
"Many skills all gathered under a very modest exterior. Hunting?" He raised his brow.
"I am pretty tolerable with a bow", she cringed, feeling uncomfortable saying anything nice about herself.
"Oh, I am certain you are indeed. All this decisiveness I've come across when you battled through the harsh elements to get to me, must have a point of release", he noted.
She bit her lower lip, "Thank you".
The sweetness of her voice was not lost in him, "Our session at the river is paying off. You are receiving compliments with much better grace".
"I am trying at least".
"Is Bofur showering you with them everyday?"
Her cheeks blushed, "He tries, I mean I think so…" she exhaled feeling embarrassed to the bone.
He looked up from his work waiting for her to continue.
She pressed the pointy tool harder on her thumb this time wanting to concentrate on what to tell him that would cause an impression, "Well, he did tell me today that I shoot a bow nicely, and he offered to give me some archery lessons."
Thorin shook his head knowingly, "I bet he did. What was your answer?"
"I accepted," she bit her lower lip knowing that this part was not something that should have been said to him.
Thorin raised his brows, "Rather prudent choice. Bofur is a very good archer and with the woods around crawling with wild animals and orcs it is always an advance to be able to defend yourself".
She raised her brows feeling relieved that he didn't seem offended, "Yes, that was my idea as well" she said and then hissed loudly. The tool had broken through her skin. She threw it on the anvil and sucked the blood off her thumb, "damn", she muttered.
He looked up calmly, "playing with dangerous tools you don't know how to handle, might get you in trouble," he said with a profound undertone that made her look at him quickly.
"I…" she muttered and pressed her thumb that spilled blood over his exceptional blade, "I am sorry, I will wipe it off," she made to get up, but he caught her arm and pushed her down again.
He reached out and took an unused cloth. He dipped it in clear water, that he hadn't used for forging yet, and cleaned carefully the blood that had created as small rivulet from her thumb down to her wrist, "This sword will spill a lot of blood when it sees action. Let it feel some now as it is born on the anvil," his deep voice resonated through her spine as he took care of her small puncture.
She felt too spellbound for words.
His eyes raised slowly and captured hers in a fiery tug of war, were neither was willing to lose. They remained there almost transfixed, as his fingers encircled her small wrist easily and he pressed her wound firmly to stop the blood. There in the midst of this bewitchment her mind as always took another turn inside it's dark pathways and she felt the slight restriction of his hand, not welcoming anymore, but intrusive. She remember another pair of hands that had wrapped around her wrists bruising them as she was forced with her face upon a wall, forced to submission. She knew the King was not touching her in the same manner. Hell, she didn't want him to draw back from her, but her subconscious kicked hard and ruined everything for her …again….like it always did. She felt her hand trembling under his and she pulled hard to get it free. The move was so instinctual that she cringed and felt tears coming to her eyes, exactly because she wanted to do the opposite, but her body was not cooperating. She wanted to slap herself to reason, or possibly cry herself insane, but suddenly all her jerks to get released were forced to stop as his hand tightened harder around her wrist.
His voice spoke quietly and his eyes held a clarity that she missed as hers had closed down long ago, "You fear something."
She nodded quickly.
"What is it you fear?" He asked smoothly.
She choked on her words, "trapped…I don't want to feel trapped".
"What happened Eilin Firebeard to cause all this fear in you?" His voice was grave, but somehow grounded her.
"I was raped", she exhaled defeated, not wanting to ever open her eyes again.
"Such a grim fate", he continued with the same even tone that kept her securely there with him, away from the nightmares in her mind.
Her pulling loosened under his grip slowly.
"My hold on your hand is making you feel trapped…you fear therefore a similar fate?" His brows clouded.
"Sir, you are my King. You can do anything you wish to me…" she muttered.
His voice became chagrined, "Do you think this is how things work in Erebor?"
She inhaled deeply, but kept her eyes closed tight.
"No", he whispered and drew her hand up to his mouth to offer her an impossibly warm and soft kiss. The roughness of his beard enhanced her senses to the point where instead of a sob, there was a gasp that left her mouth. She opened up her eyes unable to believe what she had felt and what she was seeing. He pulled back and released her hand, "Not in this stronghold. You are free to return to my sister Eilin. I am not going to hurt you and neither will anyone else within these walls. You are safe".
She cradled her hand and rubbed her skin, not to erase his touch, but to enhance the tingling feeling that lingered there and was spreading towards her forearm and inside her mind. She was at a complete loss for words. Within seconds he shifted her from feeling terrified to feeling warm and fuzzy beyond belief.
"Sir?" She murmured.
"Your fears are unfounded", his beautiful eyes smiled kindly at her.
She felt the warmth of his soft kiss gliding down her chest and pooling into her stomach, "my Lord?" She repeated, not trusting her voice to deliver. Her heart was beating like a drum and echoed in her ears.
He looked up quietly.
"In which world does a King kiss the hand of maiden and not to the opposite?" She omitted his title on purpose this time.
"In a world where a man respects a woman no matter their titles", came the steady rebuke.
She paled and her fingers tightened around each other painfully. Her eyes overflowed with tears and she kneeled in front of him, "Years ago when I left the tavern I never utilised my one and only opportunity to come to the Blue Mountains, because I found the prospect of meeting the Durin's folk terrifying. Yet, ever since I met them they have all been treating me with such kindness, the liking of which I have never felt in my life. You and your sister have treated me like a human being worth of respect, not like trash. I can never thank you enough, and I can never swear my loyalty to your family hard enough unless I spill my blood for you, which I will do if needed. My gratefulness cannot be expressed with words, but only with actions. Thank you for allowing me to see the honour and grace that resonates from King Oakenshield. All the ballads in the world couldn't do it justice", her words were half broken and many times did she stop to wipe away her face. At that moment she wanted someone to hug her and tell her that all this was not some figment of her imagination.
"You can only see the King in me…." His voice sounded slightly regretful.
She looked up quickly with eyes full of worry, "How can I not? Help me, tell me how not to see him, because his brightness blinds everything else away from my eyes". How could she ever admit to him that she saw much more than the King without compromising this thin balance? She couldn't even dare to consider that as an option, never mind acting on it. She may have been pining on him from afar, she may have even creeped up on him while he slept, but admitting all that to his face would have been a folly, even if his words back there sounded regretful.
He stood up and walked over to her, "that night at the river bank, was he there?"
She felt her heart palpitating, "No…I mean well okay a small part of him was", she smiled against all odds.
Exceeding all expectations he came down to her level on one knee, "Know what? I miss the slightly intoxicated Eilin that tried to commit suicide by catching her hair on the oars of her boat", he smiled.
"Why?", she whispered afraid to look up at him.
"She looked willing to be happy, not full of guilt, fear and regret", His face was grave but his gaze had a calm sweetness in it that she unfortunately missed.
A sob escaped her throat, "That Eilin always tries to be happy, but always fails".
His eyes became grim, "that's a deeply unsettling thought".
She shook her head trying to send away the darkness that always resonated from within, "When that Eilin is drunk it's easier to feel happier".
"Let's try to make her happy more often without the use of alcohol then. So tell me, why are you crying now?" He frowned.
Her stomach twisted in a rather delicious way, "These are not tears of sadness, but tears of gratefulness and happiness…" a timid smile broke on her lips.
He offered her his hand which she kept looking like a bloody idiot for several moments, "That's at least a small relief. Now take my hand and stop kneeling in front of the bloody King because you are annoying the poor man", he said.
She huffed and wiped her tears away, "Thank you, my Lord," she said and clasped his hand gently. He pulled her up easily and her heart smiled up at him.
He averted his eyes and filled her a cup of water, "Omit the title and try using my name instead".
She looked up suddenly, "What? surely you must be jesting!"
"Drink up, before you faint on me again", he offered.
"I could never call you by your given name in front of people…" her mouth dropped open.
"Do you see anyone else here apart from us two?" His eyes thinned and he placed the cup in her hand as she was not making an attempt to take it. Then he turned and dipped another clean cloth in the water bucket.
She shook her head shocked beyond reason and drank, "No…"
"Then next time try to use it", he pursed his lips and came over with the cloth, "You need to cool down your eyes, they are bloodshot", he said and gave it to her.
"Thank you…ufff", she bit her lower lip stopping herself just in time from using his title once more.
That made him snort, "Nice effort, now add the name".
She tried to force his name out of her mouth, but the effort was so hard that she became red in the face and that made him chuckle.
"This is going to kill you, forget it", he shook his head.
"Brave!" She exclaimed and covered her mouth with the wet cloth. Her wide eyes looked at him in shock.
He laughed then and she felt her heart opening up to him, "I didn't ask you to tell me it's meaning. Use my name or I will start calling you -bird-", he noted.
"Thorin!" She chirped and covered her mouth again, this time hiding a playful smile behind it, her fear backing away quickly.
He raised his hand, "See? Very good, did that feel scary?"
"Terrifying, but rather nice also", she said and pulled the cloth away from her mouth.
"Much like me then," his lips had turned in a small side smile.
"How many times can I ever thank you for what you are doing for me?" She averted her eyes and looked somewhere between his muscular forearms and the royal sigil on the knee of his trousers.
"Thank me by smiling more often and crying less. The cheerful Eilin of the river just made a guest appearance for a moment back there and I liked that", he said and crossed his hands in front of his knees.
Her hand reached out and touched the sigil on his trousers, even though her mind cried out that she should pull it back and stop taking liberties of such proportions, "I don't want to stop wearing your sigil".
"You won't", he frowned.
"Ever", she looked up at him and their eyes locked.
"Uzbâd", Dongar's fist touched his heart and he looked towards his boots respectfully, chastising himself for catching the King's maiden with her hand on his knee.
Eilin inhaled sharply and pulled back from him.
Thorin looked up unruffled, "Lieutenant Dongar…" his voice became dark and deep and Eilin looked at him worried. She felt the shift of the energy around him to the dark side the moment this man appeared.
"you asked for me my Lord?" Dongar remained kneeling and kept his eyes away from the King and the princess's maiden. He was certain he saw something he wasn't supposed to have seen.
His shadowed eyes thinned upon the lieutenant, "I did…" he trailed off checking out every single inch of this imprudent man that was salivating around his sister more often than not.
"What services would you require out of me my Lord?" Dongar asked.
"Return to my sister Eilin and thank you for your assistance. If I need your services further I will inform you," his voice was heavy and authoritative, but his eyes were warm and kind on her.
She bowed, "very well my Lord."
As she turned around and walked away from Thorin's forging station she heard him speak in a voice that raised the hair on the back of her neck with apprehension.
"As for you lieutenant…a few words about yourself and your family would be a good place to start."
She winced and quickened her steps, feeling sorry for that kind lieutenant and a little guilty for monopolising a side of the King that this man would apparently never know. A side that comforted her in ways she had never thought possible. Her fixed ideas about how men treated women began shifting when she first stepped foot in Erebor, but today they had been shattered to dust by his deeply respectful and gentle ways. His attitude tore away her greatest fears, if only for a little while, with an ease that knocked the air out of her lungs and made her hopeful once more.
This hidden side of his left her tense beyond belief and she didn't know what to do to erase that silly smile that was printed permanently on her lips. She stopped and flicked her shoulders playfully. Hell….she couldn't care less. She was going to enjoy that twisting tightness that pooled in her stomach since he kissed her hand, and forget regret and guilt like he told her. She wouldn't have changed this day for all the gold in the world. With that uplifting thought her quick steps became a carefree ran up to the kitchens that made a couple of ladies lean towards each other and whisper, "look at that bouncing ball of mirth. Wonder what's gotten into her. She was almost depressive an hour ago".
The other lady flicked her shoulders disinterested, "Maybe she smoked some of the weed they are keeping for the royals down at the dungeons. She's their maiden after all".
***************...*************
***************...*************