The time to choose a life companion was upon Thorin. Not a day went by without his friend and advisor Balín storming in the halls of carved stone and demanding his attention once more.

"My king, you do need to look at the list of suitors for you at least once and disposal." He would often say, just like he did the morning Thorin was having breakfast with his nephews by an old gigantic window that was built in the hard stone of the dining room.

That morning would go rather differently than his usual daily routine of opening letters, attending to his people's needs and go training with his nephews deep in the forests surrounding Erebor. It had been settled between Balín and him that if he was to initiate a series of lessons involving some younglings across his kingdom and purposely placed Friga, the Erebor's finest emerald, in the group. He had to admit she held a rare beauty to her and a well-shaped personality within which, in normal circumstances, would allure him, but it didn't. It had nothing to do with her birth conditions and the fact that her parents were mere fish merchants who ascended thanks to her beloved daughter. She lacked something Thorin appreciated: strength and determination.

Balín's attempts on bringing the two together failed miserably as Thorin would simply sleep through his grasp. After all, he was the king. No one had the right to make him do what he did not wish to do.

His friend approached the lavishing table and sat quietly next to Fíli. Said silence lasted for some minutes in which some stared were exchanged between Thorin and him. He knew Balín was up to something, as usual.

"What is it, my friend?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "Thorin, will you look at it?"

The list parchment rested in his weary hands and he placed it on the table as Kíli and Fíli attempted to look at it looking as innocent as possible. "That is quite the list, Mister Balín! I guess our uncle does not see it dearly enough. Then, give it to us. We will make a far better use than him," Kíli then grinned deviously at his brother.

"Kíli, do not play games with me. Those names are not to be repeated by any of you," Thorin warned. He thanked every day that the brothers saw his as a father-like figure and respected and followed his command for that. "That list is to be burnt, Balín."

At this, his friend held an expression of indignity spread across his wrinkled face and even his nose twisted into an odd shape. "This list was organized by me, my king. With all the devotion and attention as if it were destined to me."

Thorin sat back on his stone-cold seat. "I meant no offense, dear friend. I am sure they are quite enjoyable. However, I do need to take some time to think of this."

"You said that a year ago, uncle," Fíli spoke this time with crumbs falling on his yellowish beard. "Remember? When Bilbo last came here. You promised him to find yourself a lady."

The king frowned as that memory came back to mind. "Yes, I see your point."

"Then, if you do, you must know how important this is! Securing the line of Dúrin as your forefathers did before you," Balín half-pleaded, creasing the list in his hands nervously. King advisors before him had managed to get this done without so much time and effort spent. Thorin was too stubborn for his own good.

As usual, this conversation was heading to the point that Thorin lost his patience and exited the premises completely silent. Above all, he hated being scolded as if he was no more than a mere child who had stolen something. He knew his duties as king well and knew that marriage was no longer an option. It was a demand.

"Fine," he said, scowling at the three men sitting across the table. "I will look into it later tonight."

By now, Balín held a victorious smile dancing upon his lips. "That is the spirit, my king. Well, I will leave you to your duties now and do not forget about the training at midday."

He simply nodded as the old dwarf left the room.

Kíli and Fíli were looking at him clearly expecting him to say something. He raised a brow. "What is it?"

There was that daft grin back to Kíli's face that annoyed Thorin beyond reason. "Uncle, may we attend at the first training today?"

Of course they would want something like that. Even though the training group had more young boys than girls. They adored tormenting the young ones with some winks and meaningless jokes. Most of the times they would get away with it, but he'd heard some girl had shoved a pine branch down Fíli's head which had caused an immense mess in the market when things started flying through the air in order to bruise the brothers. Thorin never had the chance to reprehend the girl for she had run away which made them take all the blame for all the tomatoes and apples that had been literally destroyed.

"That girl is there, is she not?" He asked almost foreseeing the answer.

Fíli looked at his brother feigning ignorance. "What girl?"

"I know not of what he speaks."

"Likewise, brother."

Thorin rolled his eyes. "Leave the girl be. Do not disturb her again."

"Ah! So she is a part of the group," Kíli cheered, raising from him seat in a blink of an eye. He grabbed Fíli by the arm and dragged him up. "Come, brother."

"Kíli…" Thorin warned threateningly, playing with an apple in his hand. "If I see any of you near the training grounds…"

Both frowned deeply and folded their arms across their chests. Kíli sighed. "But, uncle…"

They were far too juvenile when it came to impediments and almost looked like a child whose candy had been stolen. "If I remember well, today is the day you promised me to train the new recruits."

"It seems no one in this family is keeping the promises they made," Fíli grumbled, not daring to look at his uncle.

Thorin had been in charge of them since his sister Dís died and he promised her to take care of them with his own life. It was not easy at start, but as the years passed, Thorin began adapting himself to his new responsibilities and during the quest for Erebor he had been confronted several times with the possibility that they might be injured or even die. Fortunately, things had turned out for the best.

With that, Thorin merely let his eyes to the work. Kíli knew what that stare meant. "Let's go, Fíli. We also have some training to do."

After that, the morning had pretty much been a bore until midday struck and he was contemplated with the opportunity to easy his tension.

She wasn't a pretty woman, but she would suffice. Her long black hair cascaded down her back and her dark eyes were like an impenetrable mask he couldn't quite figure out.

In fact, he didn't recall seeing her before. Not that he frequently visited taverns, but she seemed new here. Before he could even put more thought into it, she was down on her knees with her silky hands roaming down and down until they reached the hem of his shirt. It had been a while since he had allowed a woman to touch him like this.

His thoughts wandered to the training which was about to start, but the way her hands caressed his abdomen made him put that thought away.

The scene quickly evolved into something more serious and passionate. He'd soon be done with her and make it in time to not be late, but something caught his eye.

Someone.

A girl's face appeared by the window and knew her face was not strange to him. Her almond eyes were what gave her away. She was the daughter of a very dignified noble man and he wondered what she was doing there.

Thorin didn't even feel angry about such impropriety. He acknowledged the armory wasn't the best place to be intimate with someone.

He soon finished and resumed his walk to the training grounds, leaving behind the woman who, apparently, hadn't done her job as good as he thought she would.

As they approached the forest, the air became more humid and denser than previously. Bird chants had been replaced with howling wind and the croaks of some animals that were a part of the forest's fauna. It was harder to breathe in these conditions or to maintain focus and that was why Thorin was fond of that special place. It prepared better soldiers and made them get used to difficult environmental changes.

The group followed him like a herd follows its shepherd and there was little talk to be heard amongst them.

First impression: all looked scared and intimidated by the fact that they did not know what to expect from this. The age range went from 19 to 24, Thrung, son of Throllar, being the oldest. As for the girls, Friga was there as expected. The other one she did not know and then there was the almond eyed girl whose name was Kalea.

Moments before, she had just caught him in a very intimate situation which he feared she might not be ready for such things. How old was she, anyway?

He noticed she was embarrassed to even look at him without looking somewhere else 2 seconds later. The way she blushed gave her away the moment he saw her.

In comparison with Friga, the girl hadn't much to her. Freckles painted her cheeks and nose which underlined her facial expressions far too much. What made her quite exquisite among his people were her brown almond eyes and pointy noise. That wasn't very common in dwarves and it could make her look like an outsider if not by her height.

She realized he had been staring at her for the last seconds and that faint red returned to her cheeks as she started trotting faster ahead of him.

Maybe he had gone a bit too far.

They halted upon reaching the forest's heart. The sunlight came down on them through the trees' dense foliage and it was quite mesmerizing to look at.

"For a fortnight, our mission will be to learn how to defend ourselves and to always be prepared," he began slowly so everyone could follow. "And why so few of you? I feel like it will be the start of better prepared young adults. We may never know when the enemy is near and for that we need to be one step ahead."

Panic sprawled on their faces. Thrung was apprehensive. "Are we under attack, king Thorin?"

"No, young Thrung," he reassured, though he wondered if they now believed him. "But our treasure is very desired throughout Middle Earth and I would not be surprised if we received some threat. However, at the moment, there is no danger."

They were young adults and Thorin knew the age of ignorance was way past them and that they would be easily suspicious.

Without wanting them to linger on this thought put on a warm smile. "First off, we should try hand-to-hand training. Find a peer as I will demonstrate some of the basic moves. Understood?"

All of them nodded and he called Kalea to be his partner. She approached him slowly, but promptly. Thorin placed his hands on her shoulders to make her turn to face her companions and she did so. "First off we will talk of pressure points. The human body has many different points throughout that can cause a great deal of pain when hit properly. A direct hit on these areas can put a quick end to a fight. There are many of these to aim for: A blow that lands squarely on the forehead with sufficient pressure can knock an assailants head back and cause whiplash," he explained as he let one of his fingers trail up to her forehead. He felt her fidget under his grip. "Hitting the eyes is not only very painful, but it can also temporarily damage the enemy's vision, giving you time to get away."

Thorin reckoned if he was speaking too quickly and paused for a moment. He could not see Kalea's face as she had her back turned to him, but it seemed as if she was trying to keep a certain distance from him. He regained his breath. "Punching the nose can lead to a fracture, bleeding and the end to a fight. Striking the collarbone with sufficient force can break it, thus disabling your attacker completely. A kick to the knee or groin is usually enough to bring an immediate conclusion to any confrontation. Keep these key areas in mind if you find yourself under attack, and strike back quickly, aggressively and with as much force as you can to defend yourself. Also, this is obviously only used when you're dealing with single targets. A burglar, for example."

"We will need some practice to do retaliate as fast as possible, king Thorin," the boy named Dern pointed out with a serious look.

"Indeed. Do not expect to be agile right from the start," he chuckled lightly, making them more at ease. "Now, Kalea. You will try to attack me using one of these techniques."

The young girl turned on her feet to face him and they locked eyes for the second time that day. He could feel she wasn't comfortable with this situation. "If you want, I can call one of your companions to do it with you."

A defiance look crossed her eyes immediately. "No. I can do it."

She flexed her legs a bit and assumed a combat position close to him. He saw her roam her eyes over his body to find the best spot to hit. With one quick blow she kneed his groin.