"You have had it this whole time!" She quickly wrapped it back up and shoved it into her chest. "Hide it! Or he will surely kill us both for certain!"

Her heart raced as she looked around.

"Does anyone else know?"

"No."

She wrung her hands together nervously.

"I see a change in him since entering the mountain." Bilbo explained. "The elves called it a gold sickness. And the men of Laketown called it a curse on the hoard. I do not know what to believe...but... Well, frankly, I think there is some truth to it..."

He then registered the look on her face, before trying to recant his specific words.

"Well...not exactly a sickness...but...perhaps a sort of temporary alteration...of moral viewpoint..."

"Really, Master Baggins, there is no need to tiptoe around me..." She explained. "For I need you to help me escape..."

"Escape!" He yelped briefly, and covered his mouth nervously looking around. "Escape...?! Now THAT truly will get us both killed!"

"No it won't - I will take full responsibility, and you can say that you were entirely unaware of my intentions!" She whispered back.

"Why exactly do you wish to escape? And what specifically do you need from me?"

"You entered through some secret route did you not? ...I could escape through that same way..."

"No! It is too dangerous..." He thought for a moment. "But...perhaps...you could disguise yourself...?"

"How?!"

"As a messenger...for your brother's army, wear a helmet..." Bilbo frowned trying to imagine her.

"There is one problem with that plan - where can we get armour from?"

Bilbo found his hand in his pocket again as he stroked the cool metal of the ring. There was something strangely comforting about it. And then the thought entered his head.

"I shall get it for you...do not worry I have my ways..." He thought, already hatching a plan to leave while wearing the ring, so that none would see him.

They were interrupted by footsteps approaching, so she quickly ducked down and picked up her tray.

"Ah! Master Baggins! There you are!"

It was Thorin. He not only wore the very regal fur lined Cape, but also now, a golden crown with two ravens.

He walked over with a stern look before spotting her standing behind the hobbit, and then regarded the two of them with some suspicion.

"What are you doing here, my lady?" He asked coldly. "I have just sent Balin to find you, I apologise for the delay..."

And then he paused to assess what she wore with care, irritation crossing his face briefly as he turned to her.

"I am sorry, my lord, I thought I would find the kitchen and see whether there was anything else -"

"You should have had your broth while it was warm. We have little else for now," he snapped at her.

"It is no matter, perhaps I can ask my brother whether he could send some food in -"

"There is no need!" He cut her off. "Bombur has found the larder entirely well preserved. It will suffice. You are not to leave the mountain. Is that clear?"

She found both herself AND Bilbo nodding in response to the stern command given.

"It's fine, my lady, let me take this to the kitchen and get you something warm," Bilbo interjected. "I will bring it up to you...go and meet Balin.."

"Where did you get that dress from?" Thorin growled at her.

"Uh...I.. it was in one of the wardrobes in your room, I am sorry...I had no clean clothes..." She explained worried now as to whom the dress belonged to.

"It was my grandmother's..."

"I didn't know - I am sorry -"

"She was from Orocarni," Thorin mused sadly. He was clearly fond of his grandmother. "She died some years before my grandfather. But he kept all her things as though she still shared his room... She was tall and slender like you - the envious would say that she was half man for that very reason. But she was beautiful, even in her dotage..."

He fell silent as he looked her up and down.

"Sorry...my lord... I...will go and change..." She replied quietly.

"There is no need. You might as well make use of her clothes." He snapped sternly. "Balin will check on you now..."

"Bilbo, I am concerned," he turned to the hobbit as though to exclude her from his discussion. "I cannot find the Arkenstone. We have been searching for some days, but I wished to know whether you saw it..."

Thorin began to usher a somewhat nervous looking Bilbo away, as he looked back over his shoulder at her.

"Do not be so concerned for my wife..." Thorin ushered him along with a stern warning. "Balin will see to her..."

...

She entered his bedroom after finding her way back eventually and found Oin and Balin standing there talking in hushed voices. They turned to look at her, their faces worried, as Balin hurried over and shut the door.

"Oin! You are back! How is Kili -" she began but she was interrupted by the two very concerned looking dwarves.

"Lass, I know you are frightened, but we promise to keep all you say here a secret..." Oin began, before looking over to Balin.

"Did he...hurt you, Shobha?" Balin asked, half hesitating, half worried.

She paused, gulping down a knot in her throat as she looked from Balin to Oin who held his trumpet pointed to her like some sort of strange one horned beast.

"Uh...I..." And then she spotted their bed, covered in patches of blood. "Oh...you mean that...?"

"Aye lass..." Balin winced glancing over again.

"I mean...I have been told it hurts..."

"We wouldn't expect so much blood on this occasion..." Oin corrected her with a frown

"Please don't worry... I am fine...a little sore...but fine..." She sighed, seeing them waiting for an explanation and not wishing to give it. "I...do you promise this stays between us?"

She sighed. Perhaps she had to trust them.

Balin and Oin both groaned at her words, the latter muttering some harsh words in their language.

"It's nothing so terrible really..."

They both groaned again, Balin even covering his face with his hands mumbling 'Mahal'!

"No! No! You don't understand! I had a whole glass of wine on our wedding night, and ended up tipsy and falling asleep before Thorin could..." She blurted out the first bit and then hesitated, unsure how to describe the act or the exact details. "Before he could...finish the act..."

The two dwarves were now scowling, with utter disgust on their faces.

"You fell asleep in the middle of it...?!" Oin exclaimed.

"No! Goodness! No! He...did that thing...which...made me feel funny...but he only...put his...thingy...in my...thingy last night..." She sighed hoping that she had explained herself suitably.

"Oh! Thank Mahal!" Both Oin and Balin sighed in what could only be described as utter relief based on the looks on their faces.

"Why? What did you think he had done...?" She asked curious - grateful that they had understood her half-witted description.

But both dwarves immediately backed away, muttering various things between them.

"Och nothing to trouble yourself with lassie," Balin blushed mumbling. "Everyone favours different tastes..."

"Nah I didn't think so either! It doesn't seem his cup of tea," Oin shook his head at Balin.

"What does THAT mean...?"

"I don't think you wish to know..." Balin whispered, turning a shade of deeper red now. "Or ever find out..."

She looked at them again with curiousity wondering what they spoke of.

"So, this was your first time lass?" Oin asked blushing a little trying to truly clear it all up.

She nodded sheepishly.

"So what did he do on your wedding night...?" Balin asked recalling the blood on the sheets.

"I think he made a cut on himself and used the blood -"

"Well that explains the stories of so much blood..." Oin sounded reassured again. "It would have been nice to have a dam explain these matters to you, but since there are none here, we want you to know that you can come to us with any questions..."

"No need to be shy now, lassie..." Balin added with a reassuring smile.

She nodded at first staying silent for a moment to organise her thoughts. There were so many questions indeed.

"He is very large..." She began blushing. "How can I make it...a little... better...for me next time..."

They all blushed again, and the two dwarves remained in thought for a little time themselves before Balin spoke up.

"Well...you could try..." He turned much redder again. "Being on top..."

"Aye, and...us dwarves...well...like it a bit...rough," Oin revealed shyly. It was a strange reaction for such a gruff old dwarf, to blush and squirm like a little girl. "You could take over...push him around a bit...?"

"Och aye Master Oin! He will like that very much I imagine!" Balin chuckled nudging Oin, who looked very pleased to have suggested it.

"And...what about preventing myself from having a baby...?" She whispered taking a step closer to them and looking over her shoulder and whispering.

"Have you spoken to him about this, my lady?" Balin asked worried.

"No - I mean - he is not concerned in any way with me..."

"No. It seems he is a little preoccupied these days," Balin trailed off worried about Thorin clearly, but he seemed reluctant to discuss the matter much further.

"Do you think he is changed then...?"

They both fell silent, deep in thought and worry.

"I know the best thing for you lass," Oin revealed quietly. "It is milder than the other potions the dams take... But it should be fine so long as you do not...partake repeatedly...I shall go and make you some now..."

"Aye, and I had better hide these sheets for now." Balin hurried over to the bed collecting the evidence. "Your marriage is consummated. And that is all that matters."

And with that she was left in the room on her own again.

...

"Right you look...quite passable...actually..." Bilbo grimaced. "Although perhaps you should stay in the shadows, away from light..."

She could feel her heart racing. The hobbit had, true to his word acquired some armour used by the royal messengers to her father's army. Although they didn't fight, they did have to carry messages between groups of fighting soldiers, and so were always in armour themselves.

She had quickly changed her clothes in a remote corridor while Bilbo had kept guard. Karan and Amit still stood guard outside Thorins corridor without realising that she had given them the slip again!

And now for this to work, she would need to be back before Thorin noticed her gone.

He had not been back to see her on her second night, but he had joined her for breakfast. And yet there was something strangely different about him. With each day he had seemed more concerned about the Arkenstone, which had worried her even more. She could only hope that Gandalf would arrive soon before anything terrible happened.

"Hurry!" Bilbo whispered, once she was dressed. He had led her down several corridors that appeared disused. It had been something of a maze, and she could only imagine he had been exploring Erebor continuously to have discovered them. "This way... Quick now!"

They had taken several turns, and dark stairwells down, where she had to hold onto Bilbo a few times, for being unable to see from under the helmet in the dark!

Finally they had almost made it to the gate, now fortified with large rocks the dwarves had found nearby.

"You will need to climb up - the stone steps here..." Bilbo pulled her up the uneven steps. "And you will need to use a rope to climb down...will you manage?"

"Yes - I am fine with climbing. I am getting used to this armour now," she stopped and looked at the whole construct. "When did they do this?"

The front gates had not been so heavily fortified when she had first arrived no more than two days ago!

"Thorin had them build the wall up high only this morning, my lady... Do not worry it is a very strong structure..."

Bilbo trailed looking at her as she continued to climb. "He is not it himself, I fear..."

She fell silent, worrying about what would happen now if she got caught.

"I have tethered the rope to a rock on the end there," Bilbo pointed, crouching down behind another rock as she hurried along to find the rope. "I have clambered down it and know it is a strong tether..."

He stood up and looked behind to check they were not followed.

"Please only stay for as long as you must.." Bilbo warned nervously.

"It is getting late, so you must be back before nightfall."

It was evening and the sun had already begun to set casting dark shadows amidst the rocks.

She would only have half an hour at best now to find out where Rajah was being kept.

Quickly she scrambled down the rope into the darkness below. She hid behind a rock nearby and looked out at the encampment her brother and their men had made near Erebor.

Sticking close to the wall of the stone bridge she hurried along. And then she joined the first group of soldiers camped, listening to what they spoke of, but still moving with purpose as if she carried a message for someone.

She had reached quite far into their camp when she heard of the last of their supplies and 'the Princess' beast' being brought over in two days time.

With a heart filled with disappointment, and heeding Bilbos warning she quickly turned back.

She had managed to get this far, and rather than risk getting caught on this occasion by staying out, when Rajah was still not here, she chose to turn back.

Stumbling in the dark now, she made her way back to the fortified wall. And then feeling her way along the edge, found where the rope had been hidden out of sight before holding on to it and climbing up.

Her armour jangled on occasion, so she slowed down, in an attempt to keep her climb as quiet as possible.

Then finally she flung herself over the top onto the makeshift ledge they had used, ducking behind a rock to catch her breath.

It was eerily quiet, and dark, but she didn't dare take her helmet off for now. At least not until she reached the safety of a dark corridor.

Bilbo seemed nowhere in sight.

At first she worried about it, but then realised that, had he been caught, he would have had to return back in order to avoid any suspicion.

Leaning out, she carefully pulled up the rope, wrapping it up carefully and hiding it behind a rock.

Then as she stood up, she felt something sharp held to her throat.

"Move and I will slit your throat open."

She recognised whom the deep voice belonged to. It was the last person she wished to meet right now.

"Identify yourself."

She remained silent worried that even if she tried to speak in a deeper voice that he might recognise her.

So she pulled out a small note she had written herself and held it up.

"A messenger?" He growled. "Are you armed?"

She shook her head slowly.

"Turn around." He moved his dagger away and commanded again. "Turn around!"

Lowering her head, she turned around slowly. The helmet she wore covered most of her face, and the mail beneath covered her chin, so she hoped he would just send her back down since she was clearly not a threat.

"You trespass into my Kingdom, and parry messages I have not permitted?!" He snapped, snatching the note and glancing at it briefly. Before setting the point of his dagger to the small exposed part on her neck. "Do you have a name...messenger?"

All she could hear was the sound of her own pounding heart, as she tried to think of a way to avoid speaking.

And then she had an idea.

Using one hand she tapped her throat and shook her head.

"You...cannot speak?" Thorin scoffed. "A mute messenger...now I have heard of everything..."

He lifted his blade under her chin and pressed it against her forcing her to lift her head up.

"Show yourself properly."

She lifted her face as little as she could, certain now that he would recognise her.

"Messengers are not allowed to trespass..." He grasped her hands together and bound them with a piece of rope. "Lets go...let us see what your mistress has to say when she realises your punishment..."

Her heart pounded as he dragged her down the steps and then along several corridors. She still didn't dare speak.

Finally he had pulled her into the dungeons.

"Are you still lost for words, messenger?" He grunted pushing her into a large room in the dungeons.

The dark rooms only bore a single small torch between them.

She looked up, glancing around to spot the many chains and shackles that hung along the walls and the variety of what looked like sharp and painful torture instruments!

She suppressed a gasp, finding herself beginning to hyperventilate at what might be implements waiting to be used on her!

Then turning her to face the wall, he cut her binding free.

She was about to breathe a sigh of relief, hoping that his intention was only to give a fright. But then he suddenly pulled up her hands, locking them into the metal shackles chained to the ceiling. They made a horrifying clanging noise as they locked.

"Still nothing...? Well you have very soft hands for a messenger..?"

She was sure she would pass out soon. Certainly she could no longer concentrate on his words.

He moved across to the wall where several chains dangled.

Grasping two chains together, he pulled on them gently, and with a grinding metal sound the shackles began to lift her up by the wrists, until she was on tiptoe.

The cold metal bit at her skin and the shackles pulled her wrists painfully. She was utterly sure that if he lifted her further, that she would pass out from the pain.

Her breathing was now ragged and she could feel the perspiration dripping down her neck.

But then miraculously he seemed to stop and lower her a little.

Then he moved to stand close behind her.

Taking his dagger again, he cut the ties to the breast plate she wore, followed by the ties to the chainmail, letting both fall to the floor at her feet and leaving her only in the black silk tunic. Then gently he ran his hand over the silk tunic covering her chest and brushing her sensitive nipples through the fabric making her gasp.

He only stopped at one point to remove the helmet from her along with the chain mail that came with it for the lower half of the face. Her hair came loose falling down her back and tumbling below her shoulders.

"Did you think I would not recognise you...my wife?"

Standing close behind her, as he carried on teasing her nipples, quickening her breath again, he smirked.

"I told you, not to go outside. If you had simply asked me, I could have sent a message on your behalf." His tone was chilling, and yet she couldn't help the strangely pleasurable ache that he was begging to create between her legs as he continued to brush, tease and gently pinch her nipples through the silk. He leant over to whisper in her ear, gently nipping the skin with his teeth, making her cry out. "Oh...you are so very delicious...my dear wife...your father was right - you are not like other women...you are disobedient...but I shall enjoy that I think..."

She could no longer keep herself from moaning, as she felt his hard erection pressing against her back.

The sensation he was building up between her legs, knotted and tightened within her, desperate to explode and find its way out.

Then he slid his hand down her trousers.

"Mahal...arent you so ready for me..." He hummed, clear delight in his voice at her arousal.

But just as abruptly as he had begun, he stopped, pulling his hand out.

"I am a patient dwarf, so this is my warning: disobey me like this again, and the next time I will fuck you held up in these shackles," he growled at her. "Although I shall quite enjoy that, I suspect..."

She sighed in agony for lack of release, having held her breath for the last minute.

"Did you wish me to continue?" He whispered in her ear, pressing himself against her back, before licking the fingers that were covered in her arousal. "You taste so sweet..."

Then he paused to watch her catch her breath as she shook her head. Her pretty features were a mixture of lust, arousal and disgust.

"Do you miss your brother?" He suddenly asked softly feeling a little sorry for her - he too had a brother once, and he still missed Frerin. And he wondered whether her excursion outside had been to find Arvind. He would have been lying if he had not admitted to liking Arvind himself. "If it might be of comfort, I can arrange for him remain in Erebor once we are settled. Give him a place as a high advisor. There are few who might vanquish a dragon so efficiently as he did..."

He released her hands from their bindings, watching as she held onto the wall for balance, still feeling dazed and breathless.

"Here," he stepped over to her, watching her flinch at his touch. So ignoring her, he pulled off his large furlined Cape, and wrapped it around her. And then he scooped her up into his arms.

"No! I miss my brother, but I find you a brute!" She pushed against him, struggling to get out of his arms, finally slipping out, only to have him trap her in place against a wall to stop her from running off into the darkness and getting lost.

"You are not of your right senses -"

"YOU did that to me!" She cried, tears spilling from her eyes. "You are an uncivilised, vile, beast!"

He held her in place, but she shook her hands free of him trying desperately to push his rock like form away.

"I am uncivilised?!" He laughed, a hollow booming sound echoing through the dungeons. "It is YOUR father who agreed to trade YOU for power and gold remember? His favourite, youngest daughter...born to his beautiful whore? Is that not what they call you in -"

His words were halted by a harsh slap, which she couldn't stop herself from landing on his face, although she thought better of it now, as fear flooded her.

The weight of her hand barely dented his ego, as he stood there a moment before looking at the trapped young woman who had landed it.

She had expected him to hit or punch her in return, but instead he lunged forward and kissed her violently. It was a strange feeling to hate him, and yet find that she just melted in his arms.

"You bring out something...savage... in me..." He rasped, kissing her again pulling her in against his body. "And when you fight, or defy me, you make me hard...you make my cock twitch and make me want to bend your supple body over right now and fill you with my seed...but know that I would never hurt you..."

"Other than brutishly treat me like a prisoner or bed-slave?" She replied quietly wiping her eyes. "I have seen animals couple with greater care."

He brushed the tears from her cheeks.

"You have watched animals couple?" He raised an eyebrow at her, hiding a chuckle. Apparently he had a sense of humour. A dark one perhaps, but a sense of humour none the less.

"I..." She shook her head, a few more tears spilling down her soft brown cheeks. "That is not the point I made!"

"I am not worthy of your tears," his reply was strange as he gently wiped her tears away again. "It is cold and dark here. And you do not know the way back. Let me take you back."

It was not a question, once again he scooped her up into his arms wrapped in his soft warm cape. This time she did not resist.

"It is not safe for you to wonder outside unguarded - there can be no argument on this. Perhaps the lesson I taught you was a harsh one, but I imagine it is one you will remember..." It was all he said as he silently carried her back to his room. "I should truly punish the one who gave you those clothes - Next time I will."

….

A/N:

so he is a bit darker in this story - but perhaps the Sickness is making him worse…

thank you so much Crystal-Wolf-Guardian for your comment 💙 - you have inspired me to release this chapter early :)