So as promised... here it is

I made in longer than usual... so injoy.

And Sidney, I hope you like it... and also, since you know what is going to happen next, how much should I push it? Oh and I need my copy of The Hobbit back soon...

Thank you,

UKReader, here is the more you've been waiting for :)

and

LaPierreVonTigger, deal with it...

Chapter 10: Garifâlinh

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Once they had started traveling again Ahvain became quiet. Thorin had to look back every once in awhile to make sure she was still following him. The homebound king gave her a false smile each time he was caught looking over his shoulder, and she returned one.

Facing the path home Thorin thought back at the woman following him. There atop her pony, even though she was dressed in her nightclothes, she looked fierce. Ahvain sat straight with a proud façade; the twin blades sticking out above her shoulders. Her hair had been brushed out with her fingers and some of the braids had been redone. Thorin thought she was the beautiful creature in all of Middle Earth, especially when the sun shine captured her, making her this glowing goddess of an elf; her earthy brown hair changing into a glowing ember, her green eyes turning to emeralds.

It was seeing her like this that Thorin thought back to what she had said days before.

"I just don't want to lose the only thing that means anything to me… you."

"…means anything to me…"

"You."

A warmness unlike anything he'd felt before gathered in the dwarf king's belly and a smile crept onto his face. She cares for me, he thought looking back at her again, though this time he saw a difference in her posture.

Those gem-like eyes were cast down, looking at the horn of the saddle, and her shoulders were slumped forward; the movement of the pony beneath her causing her body to rock left and right. No longer was she the divine figure she was moments ago. The broken remains of the woman he knew now took her place.

"Ahvain?" Thorin gave a gentle tug on the reigns and his pony slowed to a halt while hers caught up.

When he called out to her she straightened up, "Hmm?"

Their ponies stood shoulder to shoulder. Thorin examined her before asking if she was alright, if anything was wrong. She sighed and shook her head, gave him a well rehearsed fake grin before telling him not to worry, that she was fine. Ahvain was many things, but not a liar, at least not a good one.

"If you need anything I am here." With some effort he had leaned over in his saddle and placed one large hand on her small ones.

"I know, thank you."

With that they continued on their way, home getting closer for one, and further away for the other. Ahvain knew she'd have to leave her home someday. That someday she would want to escape the repeating, ordinary life she had created for herself, but she didn't think that this was the way she was going to do it. Nor did she realize how painful it would be to know that she didn't have somewhere to return to.

But now she could relate to the dwarves of Erebor… and just like them she had to find a new place to call home.

She tightened her grasp on the wooden case balanced on her lap. At least she had some things to remind her of her home, of her old life. Her gazed shifted to the road ahead, and to Thorin. He sat tall on his mare, like the king she now knew him to be. How could someone like him want to be with me? He could have anybody, any female dwarf among his kin and yet he has taken fancy to me, a dirty, filthy half-elf. I'm not even of pure blood, just a cross breed! Thoughts beleaguered her mind.

They rode on for a couple more hours before a group of building came into view. They had come across a town that Ahvain had no knowledge of so she gave Pepper a nudge and urged her to walk closer to Thorin's.

People turned their looks to the pair as they lead the ponies through the town. Ahvain, very aware that she was only dressed in nightclothes, couldn't help but think what the people were assuming; especially with the black eye and cracked lips that still were fresh.

Ahvain had all but forgotten the giant of a dog following her until a string of giggles erupted behind her. She had looked back to glare at whoever might have been laughing at her but was had to fight a smile when she saw what actually was happening.

Standing level with a group of children was the wolfhound, wagging his long tail and licking the children's faces. With a fright, the parents came over and shooed the beast away. Down hearted, the dog left the group of youngsters. Ahvain whistled and called for him. He perked his ears and trotted up next to his new master and her little mare.

Thorin stopped outside an inn and tied off his pony and took the case for Ahvain as she dismounted from hers. Before leaving she gave a command to her pet in the elves tongue and took hold of Thorin's arm (not that he complained about the action).

The stares continues as they walked up to where the manager stood, giving them a criticizing look.

"Wha' can I offer ya fer?" His speech was very… interesting.

"Do you have any available rooms for tonight?"

Thorin's voice was very polite; Ahvain couldn't help but wonder if it came with being one of the most mistreated races on Middle Earth.

"Aye, tha` wa do. I can geta `oom fer ya," His eyes racked over Ahvain, he smiled, showing his many missing teeth, "an yar lass."

The blood in his veins boiled. How dare he? Trying to keep his tone calm, Thorin spoke through his teeth. "Do you have two rooms, or just the one?"

"`ust tha one."

"Very well," Thorin untied a small bag from his belt." How much for the night?"

While Thorin and the owner haggled over the price, Ahvain tried to ignore all the eyes she could feel burning holes into her back. A sudden fear crept up into her heart which now beat at a frightening speed. Her grip on Thorin's arm tightened.

He paid the man and put his coin pouch away and put his other hand on hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Let's get you some clothes now shall we." He smiled at her and led her out of the place.

In the fresh air, Ahvain took a deep breath and released it. Thorin gave her hand another squeeze and another white toothed grin. Without all the men staring at her she felt more relaxed, having Thorin holding onto her might have helped as well.

They wondered through the small town, the hound following at its own pace behind them, stopping to sniff things and to greet other dogs roaming about. Some of the towns people were slightly startled at the large dog walking the streets (imagine what dwarves would say).

When Thorin spotted a hideaway store selling fabrics and premade clothes he pulled Ahvain, who was glancing at a booth in the distance, along with him. Inside the shop were spools of yarn, stacked cloths of many colors and a few beautifully crafted gowns for matrimony celebrations. Other bits of clothing lay about the store in various stages of completion.

An older, busty woman came from a back room and welcomed them with a smile and gave the dog a good pat before telling him to behave in her store. Ahvain spoke up to tell her not to worry. It was then the shopkeeper took notice of her clothing.

"Wot you doing in your nighties deary?" she put her hand on her hips but keep a smile on her face.

It was Thorin who answered, "We found ourselves having to leave rather quickly this morning, if you could find her some good fitting clothes we would be grateful."

Ahvain nodded in agreement. "Please."

The woman huffed and motioned for Ahvain to follow her back telling the girl that she needed to get her measurements. When Thorin told her that they were only staying the night and that they didn't have any time for her to have a set of fitted clothing she waved him off and told him to not worry and pick out some clothe.

Thorin looked at Ahvain, silently asking if she would be okay without him, she nodded and he went off on a fabric hunt. Once he was gone the middle aged woman started on her work taking a measuring tape and writing down Ahvain's measurements, asking the elf to remove her weapons before she started, Ahvain had a realization that her wooden case was no longer on her person, but a quick look to Thorin calmed her. He was still holding it for her; she let out a deep breath.

With Thorin's back turned to them the woman leaned close to whisper in her ear, "He `aint hurtin` you is he?"

Ahvain furrowed her brows and shook her head, "no, he wouldn't dare to lay a hand on me."

She gave the elf maiden a stern glare, "I'm gonna have ta trust you deary, but if you're lyin' I have people who'd take care of him for ya."

"No thank you Ma'am, I trust that dwarf with my life." Ahvain smiled fondly as she spoke.

"No 'Ma'ams' here call me Lucy."

"Ahvain."

Lucy wrote down her final bit of information looking back at her costumer pencil in hand.

"You an elf Ahvain?"

Feeling just a tad bit uncomfortable now, said elf brush back some hair behind her ear, her fingers catching on the pointed tip of the cuff on her already noticeably pointed ear. Ahvain nodded.

"Nothin` ta be ashamed for. Pretty little thing you are." Lucy gave her a smile and handed her, her swords before she had Ahvain follow her back to where Thorin was standing.

From the looks of it he was having a hard time deciding between two colors of fabric. One green the other a dark shade of blue. The wolfhound kept rubbing his nose into the folds of the blue cloth while Thorin stared at the green with a torn expression. As soon as Ahvain got near the dog returned to his owner with a wolfish grin. She joined Thorin and took at what he was trying to decide on. The fabric was smooth but felt strong and durable; it would make a great traveling garb.

Lucy, who stood beside them, looked over the dwarf noticing the color of his clothing and nearly the same shade in his sights. A smile made it onto her face as a plain took charge on her face. Glancing at both the elf and dwarf standing so close together had confirmed the plan in her mind.

"Alright, I have all I need." She started shooing the group out of the door. "Come back tomorrow and ol' Lucy with have somethin' for ya."

When they got back to the inn, the housekeeper handed Thorin the room key and told him that the room was now ready for him and that they would be given a meal in the morning. Thorin thanked the man and with Ahvain once again attached to his arm, led the way to the room. As they did the man behind the counter followed the dog with his eyes, thy didn` say an`thin' `bout a s`mall pony.

The room was nice, plain, but nice. A single bed was centered in the middle of the room and a small table was off to the side. The sheet were folded with care and looked clean, two pillows lay propped against the headboard. The wolfhound sniffed around before flopping himself on the ground and promptly falling asleep. Thorin let out a brief huff of a laugh and locked the door. Ahvain flinched.

They stood there awkwardly for several moments before Thorin walked towards the bed and took a pillow and laying on the floor next to the bed.

"Thorin?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to bed."

"But…"

Thorin rolled his eyes, not that Ahvain could since they were closed. "It's proper that you get the bed, I will sleep on the floor."

"But… it wouldn't be respectable if I allowed you to sleep on the floor, you are a king an-"

Thorin cut her off before she could say anything else and pushed himself up to rest on his forearms. "Do not bring that into this… Any respectable man would, and should, give up his bed for a woman, king or no."

From his tone the argument (if it was one at all) was over and Ahvain slowly crawled to the bed feeling bad about it. She had thought about offering to share it but held her tongue. That wouldn't be proper either.

She settled in laying on the side nearest to Thorin. "Good night Thorin."

"Good night Ahvain, sleep well. I'm here if you need anything."

"You as well. And Thorin…"

"Hmm?" He raised his eyebrows, his eyes still shut.

"Thank you."

"You are more than welcome?"

Ahvain smiled and closed her eyes, not letting the nightmare ruin tonight's rest.

~karak~

Thorin awoke with a weight on his chest, and a lot of it. Without opening his eyes he tried to shift his body for the weight to shift off of him, but that didn't work; instead more weight was added. Awake and now annoyed Thorin opened his eyes, finding two honey-brown ones looking into his. The dog had taken it upon himself to wake up the dwarrow king.

Thorin, who was laying on his back at the time, tried to push the beast off of him but the dog was content laying on him and did not budge. He struggled to remove the animal from atop his body another time when he spotted the beast's self acclaimed master looking down at them from the bed.

She had a real smile on her face for the first time in the week since her capture. Thorin's ire calmed immediately.

"Good boy, Verndari." She reached down to pat the dog on the head (which was laying on Thorin's chest).

"Good morning Thorin, did you sleep well?" she continued petting the hound but had shifted her attention to the man beneath the now named beast.

He nodded (the best he could), "I did, and it's good to see you smiling again."

The sudden blush that came across her face cause Thorin's grin to spread, though he did worry that he had crossed a line and was too bold. Ahvain rolled over out of his view and stood up walking round the bed and patting her leg to relieve Thorin of the animal's weight. Once he was off Thorin got to his feet as well, adjusting his clothing that had shifted around while he slept.

Ahvain's stomach growled and her blush darkened. Thorin chuckled softly and approached the woman.

"Will you be alright while I go down and retrieve our meal?"

She nodded and petted the dog beside her. "Yes."

He opened the door and gave her orders to lock it behind him. Ahvain assured him that she would.

Thorin returned quickly, knocking quietly and declaring that it was him, and for that Ahvain was grateful, she hadn't like sitting in the room alone, she had her swords and a giant dog, but… she just didn't like it.

He had but two plates down on the small table and pulled out a chair for her (chivalry in its finest). Ahvain thanked him as she sat and looked at the food before them. It wasn't much: some fruits that were almost over ripe, an egg, and some bread. It was a feast in her eyes.

Verndari placed his large head on the table shifting his gaze between Thorin and Ahvain. The latter giving him a glare, and that caused him to sit impatiently on the floor, still watching them. Ahvain ate the fruit and half of her bread, giving the rest to the hungry beast. Thorin gave him some of his fruit (it was too ripe for his tastes) and the dog ate them down eagerly.

Now fed the trio sat at the table silently, awkwardly without anything to say to each other. It was too early to go see if Lucy had finished and Ahvain didn't really want to wonder the town in her night gown again.

With a sigh she ran her fingers through her hair wincing when it caught onto a tangle. She set to work on her hair, removing silver clasps and braids before using her fingers to brush out her hair. She was aware of Thorin watching her the entire time; he looked as if he was having an internal battle so she let him be.

When her fumbling fingers struggled with re-braiding her brown hair, Thorin's inner battle was over and he spoke up to ask if she wanted help. Ahvain had grown up with her dwarven grandfather and was no stranger to dwarf traditions and etiquette. Braiding was done between people who were either of blood relations, close friends and couples. The idea of Thorin braiding her hair did not scare her, rather she loved the suggestion; and if they had both admitted feeling for one another in a way, Ahvain couldn't find a reason to not take up his offer.

She moved to sit backwards in her chair so the back would not get in his way. Since she had turned her back to him she did not see the victorious smile that danced across his face. Thorin took his time weaving her locks together in intricate braids. He had done one on each side of her face and then had braided them into one when they reached the back. He wove another pair lower than the first. He reached for another section and divided it into five parts before he realized what he was doing and stopped.

Ahvain was enjoying the feel if his fingers sectioning out her hair and then beginning to braid it…it was relaxing. When he suddenly stopped she was disappointed. But that was when she noticed just where he had wanted to begin the strand. At first warnings went off, telling her to think this through, he was leaving soon on a quest he might not return from. She could not attach herself in that way to a man that could die within the year. But she argued with herself, she did have feelings for him that were returned, so why not?

"You don't have to stop… You can put a braid there" She said.

Thorin hesitantly started the first part of the braid, "You know what this means?"

He hoped she did and was accepting a courtship with him. He was overcome with joy when she said yes. He finished the braid hastily and pulled out one of his own clasps from a pock while pinching the end of the braid between two fingers. With an examination he nodded and smiled, it was done, she was his. She brought a hand up to feel the new braid work in her hair, a grin present on her face.

Ahvain picked up one of her unused clasps and faced Thorin. "I cannot guarantee that mine will turn out as pretty as yours, but I can redo it later."

Thorin nodded and sat down in the chair she had occupied seconds ago. With shaky fingers she separated sections of his black mane and took apart the four strands needed and begun her work. It wasn't as bad as she thought it would end up, it rested behind the two he already had. But with the shakiness of her hands, she was proud of it.

He had sat down facing her and when she had finished he took hold of one of her hands and kissed the back of it making her flush.

~karak~

They had spent several hours relaxing, chatting about nonsense before the couple left for Lucy's store. The looks continued again as the humans watched the pair on the way to their destination. Lucy stood outside her store with her arms crossed.

"I es`pected you both hours ago. Been finished fer awhile now."

Lucy showed them in and took Ahvain from Thorin's arms and into the back room. Dwarf and dog stood waiting for the women to return. Thorin could hear bits of their conversation from where he stood, but not solid information.

The busty store owner came out first, a broad grin splitting her face.

"I think you'll like it"

Ahvain appeared from nowhere. Her dirty night gown replaced with a fitted, dark blue tunic that flowed to her knees with a split running down the outside of her leg starting mid thigh. Underneath were black, or very dark, tight fitting trousers. The fabric was thick and would keep her warm in the cold hours of the night but also allowed her to be cool in the sun's heat. On her back were her twin blades, matching the outfit beautifully. The tunic's sleeves were long and were rolled up and buttoned before her elbow. In blue she truly looked every bit the goddess Thorin had imagined her being.

"You're not saying anything. Does it look alright?" Ahvain played with a belt around her hips.

Thorin nodded but didn't say anything (if he had, it wouldn't have been understandable anyways).

"We'll take it as a 'yes' deary. Now, is there anything else I can `elp ya with before ya take off?"

Ahvain passed a look to Thorin, and then returned it to Lucy, "Do you have any square-like scrapes I can use to tie up my hair? I don't want him to buy anymore than he needs to."

Lucy waved her off, "Of course, here, I'll be right back."

She went into the back mumbling to herself.

Thorin snapped out of his daze. "It… You look beautiful, Ahvain."

She blushed and turned her head away from him. "Thank you… And thank you for buying me this." She pulled at one of the seams.

He shrugged. Lucy was returning so he untied his coin bag and removed a few coins from it. Ahvain was handed two different colors of cloth and given a hug by Lucy, which she hesitantly returned to the older lady.

"Thank you Ma'am, for finishing this so quickly," Thorin handed her the coins and the woman's face lit up.

"You both are more than welcome, come back next time ya pass through." Lucy waved them out. "Take care of yourselves, you understand?"

"Yes, good bye Lucy."

~karak~

Ahvain and Thorin returned to the inn and began saddling up the ponies. The latter watched as she carefully secured the wooden case with the rest of her little amount of baggage she had. He would have to ask her about it later. Once she deemed it would hold she pulled herself up onto Pepper and turned the beast to face him.

"Ready?"

Thorin smiled and nodded, mounting his pony and starting off on the way towards the Blue Mountains, Verndari following close behind.

.

So yeah... same time next week?

Until then then, thank you and see you soon.

Oh and the dog's name came from EvilPurpleCookiePenkeyMonguin who suggested Verndari which means protector in Icelandic... So yeah...