First, I only own my OC. Second, thank you to those that have reviewed so far. It means a lot! Enjoy!


I wake in the morning to a cold sensation on my back. I roll over and see the bed empty. It looks as if nobody slept on that side all night. I can't help but sit up and look around the room. Imagine my surprise when I see Thorin on the ground! Something must have happened because he didn't even want to sleep in the bed with me last night. That and the attitude he was giving me the day before… something wasn't right between us. I have idea what it could be though because as far as I felt, nothing I did should have made him angry.

In a fury I throw the blankets off me and run to the room with the toilet. As soon as the door is shut and locked the tears fall. All I can think is how could this happen? What happened? What is he thinking? Why is he acting like this? What could I have done that would bring this on? Was it truly something I did or is this something inside Thorin? My mind races and there is no end in sight. At least until there is a knock on the door. I wipe my tears but it clear I have been crying.

I open the door and Thorin stands before me.

"What has happened? Are you okay?" He gets protective in an instant. I see him go to reach for my hand but I take a step back. The shock is clear on his face.

"I don't know what happened but we are not okay at the moment." I tell him being honest. He must not have expected a truthful answer, or at least not that answer, because he is frozen in place. I can see the wheels turning in his mind. I don't want to hear what he has to say at the moment. I push past him and go downstairs to have some food. Let him think on what I said and see if it changes how he acts today.

When I had finished my food and sat for a good while and Thorin still hadn't come down, I went to go find him. I go upstairs and quietly make my way down the halls, peering into rooms that have the doors open.

It is at the end of the hall, the last door on the right where I find him. He is in a meeting with a couple other dwarves. Dwalin, Balin and Dis' husband is among those present.

"We have company." Dwalin huffs. He is the first to see me. All talking stops but I caught enough to get the gist of what was happening.

"You are thinking of sending me back home?" I all but yell.

"Let us have the room." Thorin says, ignoring me for a moment. All the dwarves in the room move passed me as they exit the room. Meanwhile, I pushed passed them to get to Thorin.

"Why are you doing this?" I demand an answer from him.

"Because it is what's best for you. You do not belong here, working, trying to support my people." He begins.

"I don't care that I am working!" I cut him off.

"But I care!" He yells. It takes me by surprise and I can't help but take a step back from him.

"Do you not love me anymore? Do you not want to marry me anymore? Is that what this is really about?" I ask, letting him know my biggest fear at the moment. I can see the shock this statement has to him.

"No. Of course I love you. I will marry you, Alvina. I just don't want you to have to go through this when you could be with family. You could be comfortable. Cared for in the way you deserve. At least until we reach the Blue Mountains and are able to get settled. Then I will send for you." Thorin tries but I don't want to hear this.

"Thorin, I don't want comfort. I want to stay with everyone. I want to stay with you." I all but plead with him. He comes to me and wraps his arms around me tightly.

"And I want nothing more than for you to stay with me. But you deserve better. You deserve that which I cannot yet give you. It is because I love you that I am sending you away." He tells me. As if it would change how I feel.

"Thorin…" I pause, trying to see if I could get the words out. I pull away from Thorin. "If you send me away do not send for me once you are settled. If this is where we part ways then it is for life. I won't be stuck at home, waiting for you to come back for me. Not when we are together already. I won't spend however long it is that we are apart, waiting." I tell him and I can see his heart begin to break.

"Please, don't say that." He begs of me.

"Please, don't send me away." I beg of him.

Silence fills the room.

"Balin, Dwalin." Thorin suddenly shouts. The dwarves called enter the room. I wait for him to tell them that the plan to make me leave is scrapped.

"Take her to her room. Make sure she does not leave. Get a group together that is ready to make the trek. They leave tomorrow at first light." Thorin says, his eyes full of sadness and heartache. My mouth falls open in a silent scream. He is ending this betrothal.

"Thorin, don't do this!" I say as I go to embrace him again but Dwalin is quick to grab me and keep me from changing Thorin's mind. He pulls me from the room and all but drags me to my room. Balin stays behind to talk more with Thorin. Whether he speaks on my behalf, I do not know.

"I told you he didn't need you." Dwalin rubs this in my face and practically throws me onto my bed and then quickly shuts the door behind him as he leaves. I run to the door and try to open it but it is either locked or being held closed from the other side. Either way, I am stuck. Or at least so they think. I won't give up so easily. No way, no how. I would get help from whoever was willing to lend it. First, I had to escape the inn.

I looked around the room and the first place I tried was the perfect way out. The big window on the opposite side of the room from the door. I go to it and open it. I look down and see the drop is not high enough to hurt me badly should I plan this right. I look around the room and immediately get an idea. I gather all the blankets and sheets and begin to tie them together. I test each knot I make with a firm tug before moving on to the next one. In a short amount of time I have a way to climb down, no injury to be sure. I must make haste. Midday meal is almost upon us and I am not sure if they will bring me food or not. So with no real thought, I tie off one end on the heaviest piece of furniture in the room then toss the other end of the blanket rope out of the window. It is only a couple feet off the ground. Perfect! I exit the window and begin to climb down.

As soon as my feet hit the ground I am running as fast as I can to get away from the inn. I only know one place where I might have a chance and it is the last place I really want to go. But I would take what I could get. I head to the master's house.

I knock on the front door until it is opened.

"Alvina, what is going on?" Amanda asks when I rush into the home and tell her to close the door. When she does I exhale loudly. She gives me a look that I need to explain, now!

"Thorin, the man I am… was betrothed to, is trying to send me away. I don't want to go and I need some protection. Do you think the master would help me?" I ask of her.

"He would but for a very steep price. A price I do not think you are willing to pay." Amanda talks in hushed tones now.

"What would it be?" I say, following her voice into a whisper.

"He would demand… hello, sir." Amanda raises her voice and greets the master. I turn and face the man who might be my only hope of staying here while the dwarves are here.

"Hello, sir." I greet formally as well.

"What is going on here? Alvina, are you alright? You look like you ran from ruffians." He mentions about my sweat covered forehead. I quickly use my sleeve to clean my face as much as possible.

"I apologize for my appearance. Sir, I was hoping you could help me with something." I bring up the reason I came here.

"Of course, come. Let us go to the study. Amanda, we are not to be disturbed." He instructs before leading me to his study. I have a bad feeling about this and instantly wonder if I should have never come here.

The walk to the study is short.

"Please, tell me what is bothering you so much." The master says as he takes a seat. I stay standing by the door.

"The group I am here with intends to send me away. I do not wish to leave. Is there anything you could do to keep me in this town while they are here? When they leave I can follow but I cannot be given back to them or I will be forced away." I explain to him. He goes into thought.

"I am the master of the town. If I so wish to have you stay, you could. But what is it you would do for me in return?" He asks with a wicked looking smirk on his face.

"I could clean, for a smaller fee." I say, thinking that I would still need some money for food and such.

"No. That won't do. I can hire someone else if I want. What if… you gave me your body?" He tries.

"No." I retort firmly.

"Then why would I keep you safe here? You have nothing else I want." He says as he stands and begins to make his way over to me. I back up and grab the door handle but he must see because he moves quickly. He slams be against the door before I could open it and slip away.

"No, if you want to stay, those are my terms." He says and grabs my face with one of his hands. He squeezes my face so hard it hurts.

"Stop." I manage to say, even though his hand practically cuts off my air supply. I have just enough to not get light headed and pass out. That could change very quickly though.

"Why? I think you would enjoy it. I can tell you have never experienced the touch of a man before. Let me show you all the joys it can bring." He says as his other hand that had me pinned moves down my side. It goes past my waist, my hip, and onto my thigh. I whimper, not knowing what else I can do at this point. Should he give me a sign of weakness or an opening, I will take it. For now, I must wait for that opportunity to get free.

"Just let me show you what you are missing." He goes to lean in for a kiss. I can't turn my head as he still has a firm grasp on my face. I want to puke the instant his lips touch mine. Do I take this into my own hands and pretend to like the kiss? Then I can convince him to take me to his room. I can make my escape then.

Without thought I give a small moan. This seems to surprise him. He pulls away and looks at me.

"Bedroom." I say, faking being breathless. He is instantly off me and opening the door. I am the first out of the door and take off running towards the front door.

"Liar!" He screams and makes chase. I am quick but he catches me before I can open the front door. I am slammed against this door as well, pinned with him at my back. I can do nothing but scream with my everything.

"Nobody can hear you!" He yells at me as he begins to pull up my dress while keeping me pinned against the door with his whole body. I just keep screaming, hoping someone does hear me. Hoping that someone comes for me.

"This is going to hurt, you little bitch." The master says.

"Break down the door!" We both hear from the other side of the door I am pinned against. The master is quick to push away from me and get to safety. I do the same, just missing getting an axe through my head.

The door is gone within seconds. Thorin comes through the door first, sword drawn. I watch him as he scans the scene. Other dwarves enter through the place a door used to be and are at the ready.

And then his eyes land on me.

I know I must look a mess. My skirts are gathered and spread around me as I lie on the floor. I push myself up and prepare to run because I know he is dangerous but in a different way.

"What are you doing?! I am the master of this town! You are to leave immediately! Take your rabble and be gone! I should have your heads for this intrusion!" He screams at the dwarves but they pay him no mind. All eyes are on me and their king.

"What did you do to her?" Thorin grinds out, his eyes not leaving me.

"That is none of your business! Leave at once! Guards!" The master calls.

"They are tied up at the moment. Now what did you do to her?" I hear Balin and see him approach the master. He has a large weapon of some sort. Where did they find these weapons?

My thoughts are shaken and dropped when Thorin grabs me and brings me to my feet. He drags me out of the house and back to the inn, but not before saying something to his friends in Khuzdul. I don't fight this time. There is nothing that can save me now. I would be going home after facing his wrath. I

When we get to the inn, he takes me to the room we shared. When he opens the door, he has everyone in there leave. He shuts the door behind them and locks it from our side. I take a cautious step backwards but am stopped when his eyes meet mine. The air is thick with tension. I dare not speak and break it.

And then he is moving towards me. I flinch as he gets close, expecting him to hit me or scream. He does neither. When I open my eyes and look at him he is right in front of me.

No words are spoken. He pulls my face to his and our lips lock with a passion that has not been there since our kiss in the training room.

Oh how I want to keep this going but we are no longer betrothed. I push him softly and he gets the message. He takes a step back but doesn't release my body.

"Thorin, we are no longer to be married. You don't get to kiss me like that anymore. Thank you, for rescuing me, but this is no longer appropriate." I say and he drops his hands from my body.

"Did he hurt you? What did he do?" Thorin starts asking me, ignoring what I said. He tries to get close again, to inspect me but I don't let him. I take a step back for every step he takes towards me.

"Thorin! Listen to me. I am no longer your concern. Just send me away and let us be done with this. Unless you have changed your mind about sending me away?" I question, hope filling my voice.

"No. Now I know without a doubt that you must go home. But why must you end this?" He asks of me, anger setting in.

"Because I am not going to wait months, maybe even years to be able to be held and kissed again. I refuse to wait for you to come back and get me. I want you now and always. Thorin, I am too old to be waiting. If I return home it would not surprise me if I were to be married off." I try to appeal to his love for me. I can see this information has some kind of effect on him.

"Alvina, please. Try to see this from my perspective." He all but begs.

"And try to see it from mine. Thorin, I don't want to leave you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you!" I practically scream at him.

"And I with you! But this is not the life you should have." He goes back to that point.

"Thorin, as long as I am with you, I am happy. I can get no happier. Why can you not see that?" I ask, begging for an answer.

"If you will not wait for me, fine. Perhaps your mother can find a better man than me. A man who can treat you the way you deserve." Thorin is giving up on us. He is going to send me back home and never see me again.

"Thorin. Thorin, look at me. Really look at me." I plead. He looks to me. Our eyes meet.

"You are the only person I want to be with. Nobody will make me happier. Nobody will treat me like you do. Nobody is better than you." I tell him.

The mood is broken by my stomach growling.

"I will have food delivered up to you. Do not try to leave again, please." He says before walking out of the door. It is not locked but I know someone is there, just on the other side. Ready to stop me should I try to leave again.

I crumple to the floor and tears fall. This journey of mine is finished. My life with Thorin is over.