Chapter 43

"Are you sure you want me to do this?" I asked, unable to help being nervous.

Thorin smiled at me, and took my hand in his as we stopped outside the large doors to the room. Inside was the council of the King. I only knew Balin out of the group, and I hated most of the others. They were old and grumpy dwarves. Turning to face Thorin, I lifted my eyes to his and took in the confident look he was giving me.

"I have full faith that you will convince them," he smiled, cupping my cheeks. "I passed it by them this morning. We knew this was not going to be easy. Not just for Kili, but for us as well."

"Aye, you are right," I sighed, giving in.

"Come find me when you are finished. I have to go down to Dale to discuss something with Bard," Thorin nodded, kissing me.

I blinked at him as he promptly turned from me, only to open the door to the council room. He didn't follow me when I walked in, and instead let the door slide shut. I wanted to throw every awful word I could think of at him, for leaving me in here. I sighed softly, and approached the chair that was set in front of the council itself. All eight dwarves rose to bow to me, with various greetings. I stood quietly until it was quiet, before taking my seat.

"Thank you, my Lords for seeing me today," I nodded, forcing my voice to be strong.

"My Queen, what you bring before us today is something we have never encountered before," Lord Bulak said coolly. "I'm not sure we will be able to grant that permission."

I set my eyes on Balin as the words sank in, and for a moment I got angry. The old dwarf looked at me gently, and then gestured for me to take the floor.

"My Queen," Balin said, with a smile.

Thorin had gone over every single Lord that I was going to be facing today, so I at least knew their names and faces. I had dealt with them before, but it had been such a long time that I found I had forgotten some of them. I sighed softly, and rose to my feet again so that I could begin talking.

"I am not royalty," I said, looking at them all. "Yet all of you were more than happy to allow Thorin to take me as his wife, and your Queen. Why is that?"

Lord Ketor leaned forward slightly, and the others leaned toward him so that a bunch of hushed Khuzdul could be heard. I gave them their moment, and let them answer the question for me. When they all leaned back again, Balin arched his brow with a slight smile.

"My Lady," Ketor started. "We have been around since the day you had been brought to Erebor. The council was aware of all that had happened while you were here, and of all the years that you spent with Thorin after we lost this mountain. When the royal family took you as one of their own, many of the dwarves decided that it was all right. If the royal family, the ones who were the hardest to impress took you in, we decided it was just meant to be."

"Ah," I nodded. "Go on."

"We could no ignore what you have done for King Thorin and his nephews or for the family back when they lived in the Blue Mountains," Ketor continued. "You gave up much to keep us safe, and helped win back the mountain. We couldn't ignore that."

"Am I assuming that you'd like to ignore what I've come here to ask?" I asked.

"Yes," Lord Bulak answered immediately. "Asking us to allow a Prince of Durin to wed a sprite is just out of the question."

I felt my eyes glow slightly, and every dwarf shifted in their chair except for Balin. Sighing softly, I looked at my feet for a moment, and then took the chance to clear my head of any anger. Dwarves were stubborn, and I knew this was going to be met with hostility. Sometimes you could only ask for so much from them.

"Then you should not have allowed Thorin to court me, or wed me for that matter," I said lowly.

"You are different, My Lady," Lord Runur said gruffly.

"Love is love, My Lord," I said strongly. "Denying him to do what you granted us is not fair. View this as a political marriage. It will unite the two kingdoms and form and alliance. We could change things."

"I like things just the way they are," Bulak grunted.

I sighed loudly, making them all look at me. Balin was sitting there in silence, unable to keep the slight smirk off his face. He was my strength at the moment, and helped me continue.

"I saved the lives of the King and his nephews," I said loudly. "They were supposed to die, My Lords. It was their fate to die. But I changed that. Had they died, the line of Durin would still continue. Nothing is going to stop Durin from returning if that is his plan. You need to be aware that he will return regardless. If you deny Kili now, we will lose him as a Prince. The love those two share is the same as the love Thorin and I carry for each other."

"And if we decide against you?"

"I'm sure you will not stop the Prince from doing what he wants," I said smoothly.

They stayed silent for a while, and finally after several minutes Balin stood up. "My Lords, what she is asking is reasonable. I've watched the elf. She has gained the respect of several dwarves, and she has helped save our Queen from serious injuries. I've also witnessed her saving Prince Kili on a few occasions. This is a new time."

"Lord Balin," I bowed my head toward him. "Thank you."

"We will think on it, My Lady," Balin smiled. "Thank you."

The moment I was out of the room, I almost exploded from irritation. If I was a beast, smoke would have come from my ears and nose. I moved down the hall full of purpose, and decided on finding something to eat. My ever present guardian, Nori followed alongside me and together, we decided to pay a visit to Bofur's tavern.

"Oh, My Lady!" Bofur grinned. "What a pleasant surprise!"

I arched my brow at him, a smile on my face as I sat down with Nori at a table. "Is Thorin still down in Dale?"

"Yes. He said he'll be there for several hours," Nori nodded. "You were in and out. About an hour with the council. That's surprising."

I sighed softly, "It is a miracle they live."

He chuckled, and accepted the ale that Bofur was bringing over. "And for you, I've got the finest wine from Mirkwood," he grinned.

"Thank you, Bofur," I laughed. "Something to eat for the both of us as well would be helpful."

Grabbing some gold, I paid him and watched as he hurried off to get what we needed. I sighed, and fingered the crown on my head for a moment. I knew that showing my face in the part of the mountain was a good thing. It always lifted the dwarves' spirits. Nori shifted slightly, and rested his elbows on the table.

"So how are you doing?" I asked.

"I've been going through and making sure everything that comes in is safe," he chuckled. "I used to be a spy, and I'm slowly going back to that. Thorin is worried about a few things."

"When is he not," I nodded. "Is he worried about danger in the mountain?"

"We've had several families of dwarves come into the mountain that we are not familiar with," Nori nodded, his tone hushed. "He just wants to be alert for anything."

"Of course."

"Here we are! Fresh stew that was made this afternoon and bread that Bombur baked himself!" Bofur smiled, coming over with our meals.

"Thank you," I smiled.

Bofur gave a dramatic bow before heading off to help a few other dwarves. We took our time to eat and finish our drinks, and finally left once we were done. Nori accompanied me to Dale, in search of Thorin.

One Month Later

"Good!" I smiled as I twirled my sword in my hand, waiting for the prince to catch his breath.

Over the past month Fili was able to start moving about more freely. His ribs were almost all the way healed. Dwarves healed faster than humans did, but not at fast as elves. They were more resilient than most in their wounds, but we had made Fili take the appropriate time to heal before he was able to wield a sword again. He stood a few feet from me, covered in sweat, his swords still held tightly in his hands. There was still no word from the council about the marriage of Kili and Tauriel, but I was far from done with that as well.

"Where did you learn to fight?" he asked, after he caught his breath.

"Lord Elrond taught me mostly," I smiled at him. "I also learned from a few rangers. But mostly it was the elves."

"Did Thorin ever teach you anything?"

"Yes he did but I didn't like learning how to fight with him. He was mean," I smiled, making Fili laugh.

"Yes he was," the eldest prince agreed.

"Now again," I encouraged him.

Fili flipped both swords in his hands for a moment, as he concentrated and then charged me. I blocked each attack with ease, and continued to dance out of his reach. He almost landed a blow to my back, but I managed to duck and swing my leg out to trip him. Fili landed on his back with a grunt, and didn't rise again.

"Are we done?" I asked, with a smile.

"Yes," he gasped. "I can't continue. I'm going to fall apart."

I grinned at him. "Don't feel too bad. Remember your uncle said no one could touch me?"

"I'm starting to see that," Fili laughed, and I pulled him to his feet as a dwarf came out with some water.

"I hope you are not pushing him to hard."

I laughed when Dis got closer, and I took the water from her after Fili took his. "Of course not. I'm just untouchable."

"So instead of torturing my brother you are torturing my son?" Dis asked with a smile as she looked at Fili.

"Pretty much," I nodded my head at her. "Thorin is busy anyway."

Dis laughed softly at my response when Kili came rushing over to us. He usually never strayed from his brother's side so it wasn't a surprise to see him. Standing next to Fili, he looked at his older brother for a moment.

"What happened to you?" he asked.

"The queen decided to torture me with physical therapy," Fili answered, his chest still rising and falling rapidly.

"He's doing remarkably well," I commented from my stance next to Dis.

"Indeed," Fili glared in my direction.

I grinned at him, and then sighed and looked at Dis again. "So I hear you have been up to something," I noted. "What have you been doing behind my back?"

"We were testing the idea of ladies in waiting for you," she smiled. "As Erebor continues to grow and things are fixed, more business will be done. In that case you'll have to start...dressing better."

"I quit," I replied immediately.

They couldn't still their laughter at that, and I glared at all three of them when it finally died down. When Dis caught her breath, she gave me an even look. I pursed my lips, recognizing it as one of Thorin's. She looked so much like her brother sometimes it was awful.

"I hate how similar you and your brother can be," I said flatly, saying it out loud. "Why would I need ladies in waiting? I can dress myself thank you. I don't need a group of women following me around all the time. I may be queen but I'm not that type of queen material."

"Oh come on Arina," Dis waved her hand at me. "It would benefit you."

"No, it would benefit you," I said plainly. "Put together some ladies you feel you trust and use them for your own. You are Princess after all. You deserve that. I do not need, nor do I want it."

As I passed it over to her, Dis's face lit up slightly at the offer. I knew she would enjoy that, and it would help her become the princess she used to be. Putting my sword away, I glanced at her firmly and then laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I mean it," I said gently. "You would have far more use for them than I would. I am just fine."

"I can hardly pass up that opportunity," Dis smiled, and gave me a slight bow. "Thank you, My Lady."

"I'm still getting used to be addressed as Queen," I sighed quietly. "One step at a time, I suppose."

Dis laughed again and watched as her sons sat down as Kili took out something to eat from his pack. I watched them for a moment and smiled as their mother joined them. Lifting my head toward Erebor, I watched as Bilbo came out accompanied by Thorin and Gandalf. Behind them, two dwarves were leading a horse and a pony. I had forgotten that Bilbo would be leaving us again. Sighing sadly, I moved around the family and began to join the others. Gandalf had returned only to accompany the hobbit home. I knew that this was the last time we were going to see him, for a long time. It was just something I felt.

It wasn't long before the boys scrambled to their feet, when they realized their favorite hobbit would be leaving them again. Dis followed them shortly after, catching up to them quite easily. I chuckled at them, and approached the group quietly. It was sad to see them both leave again, but Bilbo had a home.

"Leaving us again?" I smiled sadly, as the hobbit fidgeted in front of me.

"Yes," he sighed, bowing to me.

I touched him on his shoulder, and gave him a gentle smile. "We'll miss you."

"And I all of you," he grinned, unable to help it.

Moving off so that the brothers could say their own good byes, I went over to Thorin. He had been busy over the last month and we only saw each other at night. His expression eased slightly as I reached out to him and he drew me close. The air was turning colder now that fall was fully upon us. He was wearing a thicker coat, like the one he had been wearing during the journey to the mountain, only it was black and gold. Leaning forward, I caught his lips and pressed our foreheads together happily.

"I've missed you," I said quietly.

"You spend thirty years from me, and now a month is too much?" he teased softly.

"Thirty years was awful," I grunted, pinching the hair on his beard. "You've spoiled me with attention during the journey and all the battles. I was used to it."

I do have something in mind for Fili, and we'll see where that goes. There is so much to close up on before I end this story. We still have lots to cover. I am wanting to do a sequel :D