"Argh! Be more careful damn it! That stings!"

Oin grunted and continued suturing Thorin's wound; "Hold still," He advised, "This stab wound almost hit an artery. Your very lucky your majesty."

Thorin moaned and sat patiently atop the kitchen table; looking at those whom stood before him in the kitchen.

"This could have gone better," He said to Bul, whom smoked his pipe and kept his eyes cast to the cobble stone floor.

"And no this was not the plan," Thorin said to both Balin and Dain, both of whom looked rather frustrated.

'Where did Bofur go?" Thorin demanded, "Is it wise to let him go?"

Bul lifted his eyes, they shone eerily in the torch light, and to Thorin's surprise the feyd captain chuckled dryly.

"More 'n likely he ran straight home. What he did…it's probably got 'im terrified."

Thorin snorted; "I'm not so much concerned about him," He explained as he watched Oin stitch his wound, "Rather…I'm more concerned with what went wrong."

Bul laughed and finished his pipe. "Fergive me my lord but-eh-it's gone quite well from where I'm standin'. The whole of Ered Luin is now yours after all."

Thorin scoffed while both Balin and Dain exchanged looks of shock and disbelief.

"I cannot possibly put myself up for election now!" Thorin explained, wincing as Oin finished another stitch, "There would be too much scandal!"

"Don't forget," Dain pointed out, "I cannot support his ascension now as it would in danger my own kingdom and reputation."

"I told you Thorin!" Balin declared, "It was an ill idea to begin with! Hiring a guild of assassins!"

Bul burst into maniacal laughter and, while it took a moment to compose himself, He looked over all the startled faces that observed him. Save for Oin whom was without his hearing aide and continued to treat Thorin without interruption.

"First of all," Bul explained gleefully, "Staric made to kill ye, Bofur stopped him, and ye have me and 'im to vouch fer yer innocence if need be."

Turning to Dain and Balin, Bul continued:

"I am very sure Thorin is willing to hear the terms that ye might have, Dain, just name them. As fer this guild ye despise, Balin, I'm sure ye'll recall the many, many times we served our King loyally in Erebor; and we're only assassins when ordered to be by our lords. We cover a wide array of services…if ye aren't too old to remember that is."

Though his eyes narrowed, Balin nonetheless, remained silent and turned to bow at Thorin before dismissing himself for the evening.

"Well?" Bul asked, looking at Dain, "go ahead."

Dain scratched the side of bald head before casting Bul a quizzical look; "What?" he asked, "Go ahead with what?"

"Go on," Bul urged, "I saw ye when it was announced that the banquet was over because Staric had died. Ye took a sip of wine."

Dain incline his head; "So?" he said, "I was thirsty."

"You were relieved," Bul corrected, "most of the guests were in a panic, their lord was dead and Thorin was stabbed. Most were hurrying out of the hall, away from danger, while others rushed to see what had happened

However, you slouched in your chair, and sipped wine pleasantly. No doubt because ye now knew that an opportunity arose fer ye to finally make mention of some more terms ye've had in mind to present to Thorin probably before ye even arrived in the Blue Mountains ."

Dain looked at Thorin whom was dismissing Oin. "He does that a lot," Thorin explained after Oin had departed and as he began putting his tunic back on, "rather ingenious if not a tad annoying. Still, no doubt he's right and you want to offer another…term; so, I ask you cousin, speak."

Dain hesitated before finally confessing: "I have but one term."

I.

"Bofur…he killed Daddy and even tried to hurt Thorin! Ye did nothing wrong!"

Bofur, his head down, stared blankly at his open hands, trying to make sense of all that had occurred just hours before.

Nori was leaned against the hearth, puffing away on his pipe in deep thought, While Nola tried desperately to appease her brother's suffering.

"I…never thought I could ever…I just reacted; turned his bloody head around like it was nothin'. I'm a murderer."

"No," Nori sighed, a puff of smoke exiting from his parted lips, "You killed in service to the king. You saved Thorin's life."

Bofur moaned, shut his eyes tight, and shook his head as the scenario played over again and again in his tired mind.

"I just…I never thought that I'd~"

"Don't be shy, lad! Just say it! Ye enjoyed it!" exclaimed a joyful voice from behind the three of them.

All three younger dwarves rolled their eyes as Bul let out a guffaw of pure joy, and plopped down in the chair adjacent from the one Bofur slumped in.

"Whew!" Bul chortled, pointing a finger at Bofur, "I never thought ye had it in ye until tonight! Ha, ha! My dear boy you'll make a fine feyd captain one day!"

"Fuck you!" Bofur growled, yet Bul only giggled and, when Nola glared at him, He asked: "How's the little one?"

Nola, rising from where she'd knelt beside her brother, sniffed and said: "Little."

"Ah, well, aye o'course little…any problems?"

Nola eyed Bul suspiciously for a moment before shaking her head.

"Good," Bul sighed, "It's very, very important my dear, that you take the greatest care…if ye want to remain in Thorin's good graces. It will benefit us all in the end."

Nola looked at Bofur whom gave her just as much a confused expression as she did him, then looked at Nori whom busied him self with emptying his pipe.

"What do ye mean?" She asked, "Since when do ye care so much? When ye first found out about the baby ye insisted it would end everything you hoped to achieve."

Bul sighed very deeply, rose and came very close to Nola. Taking her hand gingerly he explained: "I could tell Thorin loved ye the moment he saw ye lass, believe me. But after tonight…with how it all ended, he had to agree to something in order to gain Dain's support of his taking control of Ered Luin."

Nola pulled her hand free from Bul's and backed away; Bofur had risen, and putting an arm around his youngest siblings shoulder's, asked: "What's goin' on Bul? What 'ave ye done now?"

Bul snorted and with narrow eyes spat: "I've done nothin' but agree to let Nola know that tomorrow Thorin will come to call on 'er. Ye see, the circumstances, being as they are… it's been agreed that Thorin will soon marry."

"WHAT? He should very well be marryin' me sister after all! She's carryin' his baby!"

Bul, taking a single finger, poked it into Bofur's heaving chest, and urged him gently away from him. "Sit, both of you," He ordered, looking at Nola he nodded toward the sofa. "Sit…calm down. Ye know ye shouldn't be gettin' yer self all worked up."

Bofur, guiding Nola gently, took a seat next to his sister as she buried her face in her hands and began to weep quietly.

"He still loves ye lass," Bul explained as assuredly as he could, "He was quite adamant about tha'. It's only fer political reasons he agreed. She won't take yer place in his life."

"This is all yer fault," Bofur seethed, throwing an arm over his sisters trembling shoulders, "Ye shoulda talked 'im outta it!"

Bul chuckled; "I might have been able to," He pointed out, "But yer the one that snapped Staric like a twig…desperate measures had to be taken."

"I did tha' because he made to strike Thorin down!" Bofur asserted, "Yer the one that stabbed Thorin after!"

"STABBED HIM?" Nola shrieked, looking up in angry astonishment, "Y-ye stabbed Thorin?"

"I gave him a quick nip," Bul corrected, "a mere flesh wound."

Nola wretched suddenly, clapping her hands over her mouth, she leapt up and hurried out of the room.

"Good job," Bofur said sarcastically as he rose, "I'm goin' to bed."

"Wait," Bul ordered, and with a huff, Bofur stopped and waited without turning to look at the feyd captain.

"Fer what its worth," Bul started, "I'm proud of ye. Ye avenged yer family and impressed the king. I know yer havin' trouble accepting it but soon you'll find…it gets easier."

Bofur, taking a very deep breath, exhaled slowly and announced: "I don't want to find out how easy it gets."

He left Bul in the silence and firelight of the den.

II.

"Nola, please, I bid you to wait! Nola!"

Nola, carrying her basket of purchased foods, tried desperately to shut out the pleas, and pushed her way through the market place with Thorin fast on her heels.

She'd avoided meeting him, much to Bul's protestrations, and had busied her self longer than necessary in the market place.

It was to no avail, however, as Thorin had spotted her on his way back from the home she shared with her family, and had since chased her through the crowds.

Giving in to his pleas at last, Nola emitted a trembling sigh, finally stopping, and she was soon face to face with the one that had desperately followed after her.

Thorin, sweaty and his hair a mess, struggled to catch his breath and went to take Nola's free hand; his expression was pained when she jerked her hand away.

"No," He gasped, "Please don't act this way! Nola, it means nothing to me! It's only to satiate Dain!"

Nola sighed, swallowed the rising bile, and said: "Thorin…what if she comes to love you?"

Thorin shook his head and shrugged; "I've already given my heart," He explained, "She will have to accept that!"

Nola scoffed and as she chuckled, began her trek home; still, Thorin refused to be deterred and followed after her.

"You accepted my offer," He pointed out, thumping into passerbys without apology, "Why do you now seem so unsatisfied now?"

Nola flopped her arms, almost dropping her basket, and said without looking behind her: "Because I didn't expect this! What will people think of you or me or, far more importantly, our child?"

Thorin stumbled, nearly falling, and Nola turned swiftly and caught him by his shoulders; even though they'd been careful in public before, the two of them stood clutching one another for a moment.

A deep, unspoken longing was exchanged between the two of them.

"I can't…I don't want to be responsible for the humiliation of that other woman," Nola confessed, jerking free of Thorin, "and I don't wish to confuse this child anymore than I know he or she will be. I'm sorry Thorin…but I have to refuse the title you offered me."

"You're leaving me?" Thorin demanded, "What about the child?"

"I expect you to do your duty to the fullest of your capabilities," Nola answered, "Good day to you."

"Nola!" Thorin protested and grabbed her arm; Nola, tears in her eyes, turned and stared deeply into Thorin's.

"Congratulations on your marriage," She said, "Now please…let me go."

Thorin slowly let his hand drop and watched Nola disappear into the busying crowd; all the while, he stood in stunned silence as though he was the only person in the world.