Chapter Seven

When Rori's tears dried up Thorin took her from the bedroom, closing the door behind them and he went out into the street. He stopped the first dwarf who passed him and asked him to fetch Thrim and then Ris's relatives.

The young dwarf ran off, his previous task forgotten as he hurried to do his king's bidding.

Thorin set about relighting the fire and boiling some water, while Rori sat down at the table.

The rest of the day pased in a blur as friends and relatives came by to pay their respects to Ris, and his relatives stayed and accepted their kind words. Rori felt like an interloper, as though she wasn't entitled to share their grief.

When she was left alone with her uncle Pel for a moment, he smiled encouragingly and took her hand.

"He was waiting for you, you know? We all think that's the only reason he lived this long and I guess this proves it."

"Don't say that!" she felt as though he was blaming her.

"It's true," he said. "Dad spent the last few decades worrying that he hadn't looked after you and your mother, and wondering what became of you. I think seeing you and the wonderful woman you had become, finally gave him the peace he needed to let go. This is a good thing, Rori. He's with Ma now, and that's all he's wanted for a very long time."

Rori smiled at his kind words, though her eyes were still shining with as yet unshed tears.

That evening the funeral was held by the entrance to Thorin's Halls. The funeral pyre was built high and Ris placed upon it. Dwarf royals are entombed upon their death and any dwarf who is rich enough can do the same, but most chose cremation.

Dwarf funerals are generally a cheerful event, or at least much more cheerful than we are used to. They are a celebration of the dwarfs life, rather than a mourning of his death and the memories of Ris flowed freely among those present. It seemed that almost everyone had a kind word to say about him and had fond memories to share.

If anyone needed to know something, it was Ris they went to and every week he held what you might call 'court' in the tavern, where he would tell his stories to anyone who was of a mind to listen.

Although her tears were never far away, it warmed Rori's heart to know that he had been so very loved and cared about.

As the torches were lit, everyone grew silent as the bearers approached the pyre. As king, Thorin raised his tankard high in the air.

"To Ris!" he called as the torch bearers set alight to the pyre.

The crowd copied his cry and raised their tankards, their way of wishing Ris well on journey to the afterlife.

Rori watched the flames and a small smile formed on her lips.

"Thank you, grandpa," she said softly, unlike the other cheers which were echoing around the valley. "I love you and I will miss you."

Thorin approached and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Do you want to wait until the end?" he asked. Dwarf funerals usually only die down when the pyre begins to burn out, but Thorin knew from bitter experience that it was easier to celebrate the life of someone you that weren't close to, than that of someone you loved. Although Rori had not been close to her grandfather for many years, she did still have a great deal of affection for him and he knew that this must be hard for her.

Rori shookher head and so they went back to his rooms where they spent a quiet evening.

III

Over the next few days Thorin went about the town with Thim, finding out what needed doing and what projects had been or were being put into effect. He offered what help he could, though the whole the town was doing very well, considering that so many of it's residents had left.

Rori spent the time mostly in her grandfathers house, sorting and packing up the books. Her relatives were there too, packing up the rest of his possessions. She felt guilty taking something he had valued so highly away from his family but although she offered his relatives their pick of the books, only one cousin took her up on the offer, taking one story book which her grandfather used to read to her when she was young.

Most of the others wondered aloud what they would do with a book, other than use it to fix a wonky table!

Ris did have a few possessions of worth, which he bequeathed to his relatives in what we would call a will but in reality was no more than a letter, which wasn't even witnessed. Rori wasn't left anything that might be called precious by most dwarves standards but she was happy to forgo gold and silver for the books, which were priceless to her.

Now that Ris had passed on, Rori's single uncle, Pel, and two of her cousins, Ras and Mori, were to journey back to the Lonley Mountain with them. The rest of her family preferred to stay in the Blue Mountains.

Between the five of them, they could carry the most important of Rori's books. She and Thorin had decided that the rest would travel with messengers who transported taxes to Erebor from the Blue Mountains. Dwarf taxes aren't high but like death, they are inescapable. In all fairness to Thorin though, he had lowered the taxes for the town until the community was more recovered, and had even offered funds to help improve some of the town infrastructure, which was starting to fall into disrepair with there not being enough dwarves or money around to properly maintain it.

He also approved Thim's idea to lower a families taxes for every child that they had. Thanks to there being more males than females born (and perhaps the dwarves keenness to throw themselves into battle) it was hard to keep population numbers up. By offering an incentive to parents to have large families Thorin's Halls might well be back to their former glory in another hundred years or so.

Three weeks after they had arrived, well rested and ready to face the arduous journey again, they set off for home, or their new home in the case of Rori's relatives.

The passage out of the mountains was not much fun; autumn was biting now and it would be winter before they reached the Lonely Mountain, so although the first part of their journey offered some places to stay, they opted to press on for as long as possible each day, in the hopes of getting to Erebor a little sooner.

They were taking a different way home, to the north of the shire. It was shorter but there was little in the way of civilisation for most of the journey. The days were growing shorter now so they rode on in the dark until they grew tired, they then camped each night, building fires around which they sang or listened to Rori's stories until it was time to sleep.

By the end of the second week though, Rori was beginning to tire of travelling for close to eighteen hours a day. She and Thorin hardly had any time alone together and what little they did get, they used to sleep.

Soon everyone was feeling the same way. They passed through the Hills of Evendim and as they approached what was once Angman, Thorin took the decision that they would camp here for a while. They were all tired, their food supplies were running short and the ponies needed a rest.

They erected their tents in a larger circle than usual to give them more privacy and in the middle, Rori and her cousin Mori built a fireplace using rocks, which would protect the base of the fire from wind. They also collected some boulders and tree stumps which could serve as seating around the fire.

That first day the males, Thorin, Pel and Ras collected and chopped firewood until they had a pile large enough to last at lease a week.

With their immediate needs taken care of for a while, the next day they set about hunting. Two dwarves remained in camp while the other three ventured out in search of food. They hunted with bows and arrows which wasn't Rori's strong point, so she opted to remain in camp. Ras also wasn't great with an arrow, so he usually stayed with her. They foraged close to the camp for vegetables and berries and since this land had once been inhabited, they were luckier than they expected, finding a patch of blackberry bushes on the first day. They found some root vegetables but really very few. They still had dried foods such as oatcakes and biscuits in their supplies, so if they could just catch a deer or maybe two, then they should have enough for the rest of the journey.

On the third day of hunting they caught their first boar. They feasted that night, since it had been so long since they had any 'real' food, and opened the last of their ale in celebration.

The following day, Rori and Ras set about smoking the rest of the meat to preserve it, and drying some of it so that it would last even longer.

They ate well for the two weeks that they camped and they smoked, cured and preserved any meat that they didn't get around to eating for the final leg of the journey. This was the part that Thorin was looking forward to the least. There was a pass through the mountains, where the Misty Mountains met Mount Gundabad and the Grey Mountains, however while easier to travel, it was far from safe, since Mount Gundabad was an Orc stronghold.

The Orc numbers would have been depleted following the battle of five armies but Thorin felt certain that they would not make it through the pass unhindered. He supposed the danger was for perhaps a hundred miles, fifty miles either side of Mount Gundabad but ponies, even fit and well trained ones like they rode, could not cover 100 miles in a day. They could perhaps manage a trot or a slow canter for fifty (though that was pushing it) but that would mean camping twice within twenty five miles of what was essentially, the Orc's capital city.

It rankled Thorin even further that Mount Gundabad was the birthplace of Durin and thus a sacred place to Dawrves. Once it had once been a Dwarf stronghold and to know that orcs now occupied that hallowed ground infuriated him, but he knew that he couldn't let personal desires or vendettas get in the way. A part of him would have loved to charge into Gundabad and seen how much destruction he could cause before he was killed, and perhaps a few months ago he would have been tempted but now? More than having a wife, he knew that he had a destiny and that his blood lust needed to be reigned in. Somehow he doubted that if he died again, he would be given a third chance at life.

When the two weeks were up they packed up the camp, leaving behind anything that wasn't essential (which made Rori feel awful about her books having to be taken) and began the trek to the mountains. All the dwarves felt happier after their rest, but knowing what lay ahead kept their mood sombre.

The pass between the Misty Mountains and Mount Gundabad wasn't completely flat, more's the pity, but it was much easier than travelling through the mountains. As the Misty Mountains began to loom on the skyline, conversation dwindled to almost mothing, though they were still quite some distance off. It began to rain then, not particularly hard but with a strong wind as well, the raindrops blew straight at them, making for a miserable journey.

Rori finally abandoned her hobbit outfit in favour of her dwarf clothes. Made of leather and fur, they were much more practical in bad weather.

They camped about one day away from the pass and Thorin laid down the law for the next few days. The next day there would be no talking, communication was through hand signals only. Thorin would ride point while Pel, who had proven himself while hunting, would bring up the rear. They would travel along the southern border of the pass until they became too tired.

They would not camp but take care of the ponies and sleep on the ground, taking it in turns to stand guard. The following day they would be passing Mount Gundabad at a steady canter or trot, travelling as far in that day as they could. Again, they would not camp but would sleep on the ground, rising at first light and putting as much distance between them and the mountain as possible.

It was still possible that they would encounter orcs in the pass between the Misty Mountains and the Grey Mountains, but the danger would be reduced by then.

The rain and wind kept up which reduced their visibility but they passed the first night unhindered. No one slept very easily knowing that they were close to an Orc stronghold. As soon as dawn broke over the mountains, they saddled up and rode out once again. The next day they travelled as fast as they dared without harming the ponies but they did not cover as much ground as Thorin would have liked. Nevertheless, it was safest to travel during daylight and so they stopped at nightfall, fed the horses and waited for daylight again.

On the third day the rain let up and Thorin had begun to hope that they might be out of danger, when he spotted movement to his left, on top if one of the larger hills. He signalled to those behind him and they took off at a gallop, only to come to an abrupt halt when the pass split to go either side around a large hill, but the route that they were planning to take had been blocked by a rock slide.

"What do we do?" Mori asked.

"It's a trap," Thorin realised. "We have only one way to go and there will almost certainly be an ambush waiting for us." He felt so foolish to think that they had almost escaped danger, when they had probably been seen the moment they entered the pass, since this trap clearly wasn't quick to set up.

Being six foot high or more in places, the rock slide was far too big for the ponies to jump but it would also take too long to clear.

"We will have to make a passage," Rori said.

"The Orcs will realise we aren't taking the other path and come after us before long," Thorin reasoned.

"Then better that they meet us on our terms than theirs."

Thorin nodded his agreement.

"Mori, Ras and Pel, start digging a path out. Rori, you watch for signs or sounds of danger.

Rori nodded and while the others dismounted and began to clear a path in the rocks, she turned her pony around and watched for signs of someone approaching. It was indeed an arduous and time consuming task to shifting the rocks. As they cleared them, Thorin noticed that moss was growing on the underside of some rocks and realised that perhaps this trap hadn't been set for them, but for anyone who passed this way. He climbed to the top of the pile and began to hurl rocks and boulders off the passage that they were creating.

"Anything?" Thorin asked after half an hour.

"Not yet," Rori answered. She was beginning to wonder if the Orcs would ever come.

That idea soon proved incorrect when she heard the barking of wargs in the distance.

"Something's coming," Rori warned.

Pel and Thorin left Mori and Ras to move the rocks and climbed back onto their ponies. Rori gathered up the reins of the remaining ponies so that they could stay out of the way of any fracas, then headed to the rocks. Mori was a good fighter and if Rori took her place on the rockfall, she could help Thorin and Pel.

Though she only had one hand free as the other held the ponies reins, Rori helped to clear a passage as best she could while Mori joined the others.

Finally the Orcs appeared around the bend and to everyone's relief, it appeared to be only six Orcs riding Wargs. Most of them had been half expecting an army.

Thorin, Pel and Mori leaped into action, swords glinting in the sunlight as they swung them at the Orcs and their mounts. Unfortunately Wargs are vicious creatures and so it was like fighting two attackers at a time rather than one, as the massive jaws of the Wargs snapped at the ponies and riders with every pass.

Thorin and Mori quickly dispatched two riders though their mounts carried on the fight. As an Orc-Warg pair ran at Thorin he had an idea. He leaned over to the side of his horse as far as he dared and brought his sword up as he passed, cleaving both mount and rider in two.

Mori had seen what he'd done and emulated the move herself. Although it didn't work on the first try, on her second attempt she managing to kill the warg.

Pel had quickly been dismounted, his pony lay on the ground for a few moments with an ugly looking cut on it's flank, until it was finally terrorised enough to get to it's feet and gallop off. Pel was fending off an orc who had dismounted, and the warg that it had been riding. He hardly had time to block one blow before the next was bearing down on him. He did his best though, wounding the warg to the point where it backed away slightly so he only had the orc to worry about.

Hopeful that this was all the attackers who were coming for a while. Rori tied the pony reins she held to a heavy looking boulder, then she and Ras joined in the fray. Rori was a good fighter by normal standards but only fair by dwarf standards but she held her own, preferring to attack those who were already attacking someone else and therefore distracted. She quickly dispatched a warg but the orc she approached, who was attacking Pel, turned to face her as she got near. She defended herself and as Pel swung at the orc, it once again turned away from her and she impaled her sword in it's side.

Mori had dispatched another orc but had fallen from her pony and lay on the ground. Thorin was just finishing the final orc when he noticed two wargs approaching the fallen Mori. Thorin put his fingers in his mouth and issued a high pitched whistle. Both wargs turned to the noise and between them, Mori and Ras finished them off.

Thorin continued fighting his orc until it swung it's axe at him and sent him crashing to the floor. Rori had seen the blow coming and started to make her way over but she wasn't fast enough. The Orc knew a brief moment of pure terror as he herd Rori's passionate cry and seconds later she ran it though with her sword and pulled the blade upwards, eviscerating it. Looking surprised, the orc slowly slipped off her blade and onto the ground.

Rori knelt beside Thorin.

"Are you okay?" she asked, searching his chest for the wound. He was wearing chainmail which had absorbed most of the blow but it had eventually buckled, leaving Thorin with a very nasty and deep looking cut in his side.

"Just a scratch," he said, getting to his feet though it took all his effort. "Keep clearing the path, we don't know when they might come back," he told her.

Rori did as she was told but noticed that Mori was also injured. It took all her willpower not to try and tend to her and Thorin, but she knew that they were sitting ducks while trapped in a bottle neck like this.

Rori, Pel and Ras resumed moving the rocks while Thorin helped Mori onto her pony, then climbed onto his own, though it was an arduous task.

Finally they got the rubble down to about two feet tall by perhaps four foot wide.

"We can jump that," Thorin said, eager to get further away before the more orcs arrived. Rori agreed with him and so everyone mounted again. Since Pel's pony had run away, Thorin offered him a ride as his pony was the largest of all of them.

Each rider was leading a pack pony and they took a long run up to the rocks, so that their second pony would have time to anticipate it. They all cleared it, though some not by much. They carried on as quickly as they dared, until Rori finally insisted that they stop so that she could check Thorin and Mori's wounds.

Pel took the opportunity to distribute his pack pony's belongings around the remaining pack ponies so that he might use him as a mount.

Thorin's wound was deep, it had sliced clean through the muscle but by some miracle he hadn't damaged any important veins or organs. Rori wiped the wound with yellow liquid, then sprinkled some willow powder over it to help numb the pain while she stitched it closed. She wasn't much good at sewing but she thought that she did a decent job.

Mori's wound was short but deep; she had been stabbed with something, probably a dagger. Unfortunately Rori had no idea how long or short that knife might be. Judging by Mori's healthy complexion though, she probably wasn't losing too much blood. Rori cleaned, padded and wrapped the wound as quickly as she could, then they continued on their way, travelling as fast as they dared and staying hyper vigilant for any signs of movement.

They could not maintain their pace indefinitely though, so they slowed to a walk and discussed tactics.

"We need to rest," Ras argued. "The horses need feeding and-"

"Rest is more dangerous than missing a meal," Thorin argued. "I say we go through the night, taking half hour rests when the horses need them. We'll go as far as we can, then hopefully find somewhere to camp."

"What if they come after us?" Pel asked.

"I don't think they will." Rori answered, having spotted the same moss on the rocks that Thorin had. "That roadblock had been in place for quite some time, it wasn't specifically for us. If any orcs survived, they would have had to travel easily thirty or more miles to Mount Gundabad, then the same back, plus what further distance we've manage to put between us."

"Except that we saw movement in the hills before we reached the road block," Thorin said.

"I agree with Thorin," Mori said. "We should keep moving."

"I agree also," Pel said. He was worried for his niece, Mori, but if she said she was all right to keep moving, then he would believe her.

Outnumbered, Ras gave up his fight and they travelled all through the night and into the next day, taking half hour rest breaks when they needed them. Three dwarves napped while the other two took care of the horses and kept watch.

Finally as evening fell again, they were all growing too weary to continue and everyone kept their eyes open for a good stopping place. Suddenly Thorin frowned an turned his pony away from the path they had been walking and followed an old path up a hill. The others followed and although it was dark and the path was overgrown and mossy in places, they made it to the top unharmed.

At the top they saw that the hill had been hollowed out.

"This is an old outpost," Thorin said. "Built after the Orcs of Angmar first over ran Mount Gundabad. It was an early warning system in case they also tried to march on Erebor. It's been abandoned for hundreds of years but my sister and I played here when we were young. I had forgotten all about it until I saw it again."

They would be safe to rest here they decided. Under the hill, chambers had been carved for the guards to sleep in between watches and they headed down there now. They unsaddled the ponies, fed and watered them, then Rori checked Thorin and Mori's wounds. The escape didn't seem to have done Mori's stab wound much harm but Thorin had ripped out two stitches, which Rori redid then applied a new dressings.

It was cold this time of year and they all would have liked a fire but the smoke would give them away. After a little exploring, Ras discovered a chest of furs which had been left here, along with some ale, both of which served to take some of the chill off.

Rori and Thorin offered to take the first watch on top of the hill while the others prepared dinner and rested.

Both Rori and Thorin were exhausted but knew that they couldn't afford to let their vigilance slip yet. They sat in one of the bunkers, out of the wind and cold night air, and watched the path below through a small hole that had been carved into the side of the hill.

"What will we do if they come after us?" Rori asked.

"This place is well hidden," he said. "Designed to be unnoticeable to the untrained eye. If they catch us up, I suggest we stay here and wait until they give up and return home. If they do not catch us up, I suggest we move out again once we have all caught up on our rest."

"I think the ponies will need two days to recover, we have ridden them incredibly hard."

Thorin nodded. He may not like it but he knew well enough that their mounts had to be respected. There was no point riding a horse that was uncared for and so was slow or unhealthy. If they didn't give the ponies a rest now and continued at the same pace, they could collapsed from hunger or exhaustion, which would do nobody any good.

Dwarves were considered callous by many races but in reality, they have an awful lot of respect. Respect for the the ground from which they mine precious metals, respect for the animals that serve them and adorn their dinner plates, respect for each other and their culture and even respect for their enemies. Dwarves were warriors but that did not mean that they were cruel. Selfish and greedy at times perhaps, but not callous.

No Dwarf had ever been ordered to war, they volunteered as they believed it was their duty to fight for what they believed in. No dwarf ever prolonged the death of another or took pleasure in causing pain. No, the honour of battle was in a good, clean kill and defeat of the opposition.

Thorin and Rori sat in silence for most of the night, watching and waiting, but nothing used the path at the base of the hill. As morning approached, it began to rain again, which would help to hide their scent should the orcs also bring more wargs.

Finally as dawn broke, Pel and Ras took over from Thorin and Rori, who were having a hard time keeping their eyes open. They collapsed onto the first bed they found, stopping only for long enough to roll the furs out over the lumpy mattress.

As Twilight approached. Ras ran down to the lower chambers and using hand signals, conveyed the news that a party of around fifty orcs and wargs was passing.

Everyone stayed exactly where they were for fear that any noise might alert them to the dwarves presence in the hill. In the event they passed without incident and now it was a waiting game until they gave up and returned this way.

"We could go after them," Pel argued. "Now that we know how many is in their party, we can ambush them!"

"We are badly outnumbered," Thorin sighed. "As much as I like your idea, odds of a hundred to five aren't ones I will be accepting."

Pel could see the logic but he was also itching for some payback for what the orcs had taken from their kind. Nevertheless, he knew Thorin spoke the truth and he obeyed his king.

The dwarves ate, slept, washed and Rori tended to Thorin and Mori's wounds as best she could. Thankfully they seemed to be healing nicely, though any trauma could still reopen them.

During their escape, Rori had been unable to shave but as soon as she had slept then tended to Mori and Thorin, she took the opportunity. She was surprised to feel the need, since her beard had grown past the itching stage and was causing her no discomfort. She questioned the impulse for a while, until she decided that being different was perhaps not such a bad thing. In fact she was rather getting used to standing out and found that her confidence was growing with each passing day.

Happy with that answer, she returned to Thorin once she was done. He was under strict instructions not to move from his bed unless he absolutely had to and he had dozed off in her absence. Rori curled into his side, rubbing her cheek against his furs; they felt so soft against her cheek.

When Thorin awoke he didn't say anything when he noticed that she had shaved; he simply smiled that content smile, the one that said she couldn't have made him any happier if she had tried, then he engaged in an activity that was most certainly against doctors orders, though his doctor didn't have the will to stop him.

It took six days before the orcs and wargs passed by the hill again, this time much slower and looking disgruntled. Pel was the one on watch as they passed this time, and his hand itched to get his bow and fire off an arrow but he resisted. The party passed at around midnight, meaning that the next day they could continue on their way home.

Thorin warned that they still needed to be on their guard. Hopefully the orcs believed that they had lost the dwarves but since they did not have an exact headcount, some might not have journeyed back with the others and could be lying in wait for them. There was no way to be sure and so they were extra vigilant, leaving one dwarf always on watch while the others slept.

The days in hiding had given both horses and dwarves a well needed rest and they began this final leg of the trip with new found vigour, anxious to get home, or to their new home.

They made good time, skirting the forest of Mirkwood and arrived back at the Lonley Mountain around noon. Thorin stopped his pony while they were still some distance from the mountain and the others paused beside him.

"Our new home," Mori said softly.

"Aye," Pel agreed, smiling at the sight of it. "I do hope someone is looking for an engraver."

"And a goldsmith," Mori added.

"You two will be fine," Ras said. "But I doubt there'll be much demand for a candle maker, what with men being so close to trade with."

"All trades are in demand," Rori assured them. "Trade with Dale, Lake-town and even the elves of Mirkwood is booming and living in the mountain, dwarves have much more need of candles than men or elves do."

"I'm certain that you will all find your niches," Thorin said. "And it just so happens that I will soon have to have two gold rings made and engraved."

Ras harrumphed.

"And of course," Thorin added. "The banquet in the main hall will need a hundred or more candles to light it."

Rori smiled at his tolerance towards her family, for she doubted that he was always so accommodating.

They continued on their way and were spotted quite some distance away by the lookouts who guarded the mountain and a procession was sent out to meet them. By the time they made it to the road that lead up to the mountain's entrance, the path was once again thronged with people.

Rori smiled, pleased to be home again and this time she didn't feel any need to bow her head in shame. She spotted her mother near the base of the mountain but thankfully her father was no where to be seen. Rori smiled at her and stopped her pony.

"I've got so much to tell you," Rori said, holding her arm out to her mother and and helping her up onto the pony. Together they rode up the path and into the mountain.

The great hall was already well on it's way to being ready for a feast and as soon as Thorin dismounted, he was thronged with well-wishers; they all were.

Rori smiled as she was assaulted with questions about their quest; how had the journey been, did they face any danger, did they succeed (most didn't know the point of the quest), how were the Blue Mountain's fairing, had they seen this relative or that relative. The questions kept coming, spoken over each other and piling on top of each other. She was separated from her mother and though she looked for her, she was too short to see over the heads of the other dwarves around her.

She answered as many questions as she could and she could see that her relatives were answering many of the same questions. She began to think that she would never be free of the crowds that surrounded her when suddenly a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist as Thorin pulled her to his side.

"Enough!" Thorin called, silencing the crowd immediately. "I apologise, there will be time for this later but right now, my wife and I need some time alone."

That statement stunned the crowd for a moment and only as Thorin was carrying her out of the hall did the chatter start up again, quickly swelling in volume as the news spread throughout the hall. Thankfully Bifur and Dori were guarding the passageway to the kings quarters, stopping anyone from following them.

Thorin kicked their door closed behind them but didn't put Rori down until he had reached the bed.

"My, someone's feeling dominant," she giggled.

Thorin was pleased to see this his rooms had been prepared for his return, a fire lit and candles placed around the room.

"We have had no real privacy for weeks," he said, his gaze smouldering. "I am desperate, not dominant."

"I still haven't told my mother," she said, though she had no intention of stopping him.

"She is being taken care of," he assured her. "She is joining us in a few hours so that you can talk to her privately."

"A few hours?" Rori raised one eyebrow questioningly.

"You're right," he agreed. "I will put your mother off until tomorrow." He made to move towards the door but Rori grabbed his hand.

"Don't you dare!" she laughed. "You're not the only desperate one." She grabbed the lapel's of his coat and pulled him down on top of her.

Thorin kissed her then pulled away slightly to gaze down at her.

"Oh, my love," he said. "As tempting as you are, I'm afraid there is one thing more tempting right now."

"Oh?" She didn't believe him. She didn't think that wild wargs could keep him away from her right now. "Do enlighten me."

"It involves you, some hot water and a very spacious bath."

"Just when I think you couldn't possibly be any more tempting, you make a suggestion like that." Rori grinned.

She quickly prepared the bath, complete with very feminine smelling bubbles, and they both climbed in. Being warm and clean were things that neither of them would be taking for granted any time soon.

Rori cleaned Thorin first, lathering up her hands rather than the sponge and doing her best to work the tension out of his muscles as she bathed him. She unpicked his braids and washed his hair, digging her fingers deep into his scalp until he moaned with pleasure. Then she washed his beard, working her way from the the bottom up to his chin.

When she was finished, Thorin then returned the favour, cleaning every inch of her and then washing her hair, taking the same care to work the tension from her tired muscles. When he had finished, he pulled her towards him but she struggled out of his grip. He frowned and watched as she moved to the far end of the bath and leaned over the edge. A few seconds later she pressed something into his palm and he looked down to see her razor.

He looked up into her eyes and saw that she was smiling.

"You're sure?" he asked.

"I want to look my best for tonight," she said simply, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the side of the tub.

Thorin shaved her stubble carefully and reverently, trying to show her with his actions just how special she was to him. Finally he was done and she opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"Thank you," she said, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around his neck.

When they came together in the warm water, it was all the sweeter for the waiting and though they both tried not to rush things, their need made it unavoidable the first time.

The both knew that soon they would have to face the people and deal with their relationship becoming public property but for the next hour at least, they enjoyed the peace and solitude of their bathroom where, unbound by decorum or duty, they were free to be themselves and enjoy each other.