Thorin woke up the next morning, feeling cozy and warm and most important of all completely relaxed. It seemed that he had slept in the same position all night, because as he opened his eyes he looked right at Brann, whose face was illuminated by sunlight. She was about to wake up and as she opened her eyes Thorin could see them shine in a warm amber color. Brann looked at him for a moment and sat up on her side of the bed, not breaking the eye contact once.

'Good morning.' she said quietly.

'Good morning.' Thorin also sat up and smiled at Branns dishevelled hair.

'Did you sleep well?' Brann asked further and Thorin nodded.

'And you?' his voice sounded hoarse, but he just had to talk. The sight of his wife in her nightgown, revealling her bare shoulder and her lower legs distracted Thorin.

'Better.' Brann answered, but slipped out of bed before explaining any further. 'What do you want for breakfast?'

You. Thorin bit his lip before his thoughts could bring him into trouble. He cleared his voice and followed Brann into the kitchen. 'Eggs and ham would be nice.'

Brann smiled at his answer. She had expected this answer and she was happy about it, since eggs and ham were her favourite breakfast. Nodding she started to prepare the fire and the pans, while Thorin got changed in the bedroom. He decided to test his young wife a little bit and walked out of the bedroom bare chested, his shirt in his hands. Brann almost spilled the egg onto the floor and put the shell into the pan as she looked at her husband and saw him stand in the doorway half naked. She could feel her cheeks blush and hoped that the dim light of the kitchen would hide it, but Thorin noticed it and hoped that this blush meant that she liked it. He walked over to the kitchen and set the table, dressing into his shirt before he grabbed the dishes. He missed Branns gaze and her biting her lower lip. Brann had seen naked men before, but Thorin was exceptional muscular and broad and she liked it very much. He was a dwarf and therefore really hairy, but that did not bother her, on the contrary, she wondered how it would feel to move her fingers through the hair on his chest, following its trail down over his navel to his...Brann shook her head and tried to concentrate on their breakfast. She would burn the eggs if she continued looking at her husband like that and Brann scolded herself mentally. As she handed Thorin his breakfast she concentrated on her hands and her nightgown slipped off her shoulder again, right in front of Thorins eyes. Brann cursed mentally and wanted to excused herself to change into more fitting clothes. But Thorin gently grabbed her hand an pulled her down to sit with him. As he let go of her hand he gently stroked over the bare skin of her shoulder before he pulled back. He could feel Brann shiver, but she did not recoil and looked at him with soft eyes.

'Eat before the eggs get cold.' Thorin told her and bit into his bacon. 'Its delicious.'

Brann smiled at his compliment and silently ate her eggs. She had liked Thorins touch and longed for more. Shyly she glanced over to him once in a while and quickly looked back to her plate as his gaze met hers.

'Will you work on the sword again?' Brann asked Thorin and reminded him of the arrogant ranger who would come to pick it up the next day.

'Yes, I don't want this ranger to wait longer than necessary.' Thorin grumbled.

'You mean you don't want him around longer than necessary?' Brann asked and secretly agreed. She didn't like the ranger either. There was something menacing about him.

Thorin grumbled his agreement and decided that he would start with the work immediately. The sooner the sword was done the better.

'I will be at the market today, do you need anything?' Brann asked him while she thought about her own shopping list.

'No, I have all I need, thank you.' suddenly Thorin was worried. Dwarven women rarely left their mountains and lived their lives secure and safe at the sides of their fellow dwarves. And if they were leaving the mountains they wore mens clothes. Combined with their manly appearances they were mistaken for dwarf men and were therefore barely victims of assaults. 'I will forge you a small knife after I am done with the sword. You will keep it near you for protection.' Thorin said firmly and did not realise that Brann frowned at his commanding tone.

'I will not carry or use a weapon. I am a healer. I do not hurt people.' Brann stated determinately and stood up to clean up the table and the dishes.

'It is for your protection.' Thorin insisted and followed her to the kitchen counter.

'This is Bree, these are my people, I do not need protection here, Thorin.' Brann hissed and instantly saw the flash of hurt in Thorins eyes. She had not wanted to imply that she was safer in a village of men than with the dwarves, but apparently Thorin had misunderstood. Before Brann could say anything Thorin spoke.

'Fine. But take care.' Thorin told her and left for the smithy, leaving Brann alone in the kitchen.

The young woman hit the cupboard with her forehead, not believing what she had just said. No matter how hard they tried, they ended up hurting each other. Maybe they tried too hard? With a sigh Brann let the dishes airdry and went to change.

The market was crowded as usual and it was an uncomfortable day. It had rained at night and the ground was muddy and cold. Brann was thankful for the massive dwarven boots which warmed her feet and the cloak around her shoulders and strode through the streets of Bree, looking for new herbs to buy. She passed a bakery and the delicious smells allured her to buy some fresh scones. Brann bought three, but as she was back on the street she saw a woman with two small children selling flowers at the corner to the smithy. The smaller child looked at Brann and at the scone in her hand and the look in the childs eyes nearly tore Brann apart. With a deep sigh she walked over to the woman.

'May I?' Brann asked and gestured to the small girl. The woman looked at Brann and then at the scone and then to her child and nodded timidly. As Brann gave the scone to the little girl she could see that it tried not to snatch the scone out of Branns hand too greedily and smiled. 'Please, take these. There is one for each of you.' Brann gave the woman the rest of the scones and smiled at her other daughters happy expression. Her mother was more mistrusting though and eyed Brann carefully.

'You are the smiths wife?' the older daughter asked and waited for Brann nod. 'A healer?'

Brann nodded and waited for her to continue.

'My father is injured, his wound is not closing and he is unable to work.' she asked Brann hopefully. 'But we have no money. We barely have income now and we cannot pay any medical treatement.'

Brann smiled reassuringly. 'Tell your father to come by our home. I will take a look at the wound.'

'But we can´t pay you.' the mother sighed and tears filled her eyes.

Brann shook her head. 'Bring some of these beautiful flowers, they are payment enough.'

Still the woman looked at her in mistrust. 'Why are you doing this? Why are you so nice?'

Brann smiled and chuckled slightly. 'A little help between neighbours should be understood? And I am a healer, I help people who need medical treatement.'

'Your predecessor was different. He only tended to people who could pay.' the woman muttered.

Although she was shocked by that information Brann nodded with regret. 'I figured. Please do not worry. I will take a look at the injury and I am sure that we will find a way to settle this.'

The older daughter looked at her with big eyes. 'I thought dwarves were peculiar and cold towards men.'

'I am no dwarf.' Brann answered with a smirk but felt the need to defend her husbands people. 'And most dwarves have made the same experience with men like you have made with the healer before me and are therefore mistrusting and peculiar.'

The older girl seemed a bit more at ease at Branns words and thanked her with a nod.

'I need to go.' Brann told the family and smiled at the mother. 'Remember, you are welcome to visit me anytime when you need help.'

With a last look at the little girl and her huge eyes behind the scone Brann left for the market and made her shopping. It had started raining and Brann felt miserable. She hated rain and decided to take a warm bath when she was home. As she rushed towards the side road to the smithy she ran into the ranger who seemed on his way to the smithy, too.

'What a pleasant surprise, the smiths wife!' the ranger exclaimed and blocked her way. 'May I accompany you to your home and carry your purchase?' he reached for Brann, but she stepped back.

'No thank you, I´ll manage.' Brann felt a cold shiver on her back and noticed two additional rangers behind her. 'And my husband is not done with the sword, yet. You can probably pick it up tomorrow.'

'Thats too bad. But I will accompany you home anyway, a lovely young woman like you should not walk alone.' the ranger insisted and gestured to his comrades to leave.

Brann continued down the road at his side, but she felt more threatened than safe. She kept silent, but soon the ranger started asking questions. Way too personal questions for Branns taste.

'So...you married a dwarf?' the ranger spoke nonchalant. 'Did your father sell you to them?'

Brann looked at him with a shocked impression. 'No, he did not! How can you even think this?'

The ranger laughed and held up his hands in defeat. 'Its just unusual to meet a dwarven-human couple, thats all. And I think that a beautiful woman like you could to better and marry a man from her own people?'

Brann felt her fury rise and grabbed her basket with the herbs and food more tightly. 'My husband is an honorable and good dwarf and I am happy to be his wife. I would never trade our marriage for a life with a man!'

As soon as she had said it Brann felt that she really meant it. Although Thorin and her had their difficulties Brann felt safe at his side and Thorin was the closest she had to a family. The dispraising way that ranger was talking about Thorin and dwarves in general angered her deeply. They had arrived at the smithy and Brann turned to the door as she felt the rangers hand on her arm. As she faced him he pulled her closer.

'You say that now. Don´t think that I have not noticed the tension between you and the dwarf. He may be your husband, but I have yet a chance to steal your heart away.' the ranger bowed deeply and kissed Branns hand. 'I will be back tomorrow. I look forward seeing you again, my beauty.'

With these words he left a petrified Brann at the porch and left with a smirk. He was certain that the young woman would fall for his advances and had not noticed that the working noise inside of the smithy had stopped since he had brought Brann home.

Thorin had seen them coming as he had looked out of the window in need for fresh air. He had seen the ranger kiss Branns hand and the looks which had devoured his wife. Thorin could not see Branns face because of the hood and felt a pang of jealousy in his stomach. Little did he know that Brann looked after the ranger in disgust and washed her hand as soon as she had entered their home. The royal blacksmith put the sword aside for a moment, fearing that he would break it if he hammered onto it with all the fury he felt for the ranger. He needed a distraction and decided to take a walk in the rain. As he left the smithy he ran into Brann who was holding a bowl with soup. The hot soup ran over her hand and Brann hissed as it slighty burned her skin. Thorin felt a sting of guilt, led Brann into the smithy and took the bowl out of her hands. Gently he took her hand and dipped it into the cool water beside the anvil where he usually cooled down the metal.

'I´m sorry, I did not hear you coming.' Thorin apologised an scanned his wives face for any sign of hurt.

But Branns hand did not hurt much anymore. She had to chuckle as her husband thought practically and cooled her hand in the cold basin of the smithy. 'It´s alright, its barely hurting anymore. But you should eat it before it gets cold. And by the way, my hand is freezing.'

She smiled as Thorin instantly pulled out her hand which he had not let go while it was in the cold water. There was no towel nearby, so Thorin dried her hand on his shirt and took it into both of his callous hands, pressing it against his chest for warmth. Her hand brushed against the hard muscles of his chest. Brann felt a warm tingle in her stomach and felt as if Thorin had washed off the filth from the rangers kiss. She saw the sword on the anvil and hoped that it would be finished, soon.

'Will the sword be finished by tomorrow?' she asked Thorin who misunderstood the purpose of her question.

'Yes, there are only little notches left to mend.' Thorin let go of his wifes hand and turned away. 'Your ranger will be able to retrieve it tomorrow morning.'

'My ranger?' Brann cocked an eyebrow at Thorin. 'Why are you calling him my ranger all of a sudden?'

'I am not blind, I have seen how he looks at you and how he devours you with every one of his looks. And he kissed you.' Thorin growled and watched as Branns eyes widened with surprise. So she had not noticed that Thorin had watched her encounter with the ranger.

'I already said that I dislike the way he looks at me and about the kiss...' Brann was irritated and worried at the same time. Thorins hypocrisy and his jealousy irritated her, but at the same time she worried what he might think of her loyalty.

'I will not tolerate some ranger kissing my wife!' Thorin growled and made Brann jump at the sudden posessivness in his tone. But in this moment Branns irritation prevailed.

'Since when do you care? You have no right to tell me what to do. Not after what you did!' she snarled and stormed out of the smithy, leaving a furious Thorin behind. Brann knew that she would never betray Thorin, but in her anger she had made him believe that she was not his to claim. She also knew that Thorin was sorry about what had happened with Dara in the Blue Mountains and she would never reward a wrong with a wrong from her side. Especially since she was still untouched. Brann would never throw away her innocence for vengeance. What irritated her the most was the fact that she longed for Thorins touch and only his touch, despite of all the things that stood between them.

Brann tosed away the towel with which she had cleaned up after breakfast and growled deeply. She had hoped that their lives would change, now that they had their privacy, but apparently one of them had to ignore the own pride and make a step towards the other. All Brann knew was that after all what happened it would not be her.

While his wife fumed in the kitchen Thorin turned back to his work and swung the forging hammer at innocent metals. His worst fear had been realised. His wife turned to other men for comfort since he was unable to be a good husband to her. Thorin thought about forgetting his pride and making a step towards his wife. He just did not know how.

After hours of working on the sword and some locks Thorin needed to rest and as he looked out of the window he saw that it was already dark. He put out the fire, closed the smithy and walked back to his home. As soon as he opened the door delicious smells filled his senses and Thorins eyes widened as he saw what Brann had put on the table. There was a huge piece of red meat of the bone, potatoes and beans on the table and Brann was about to fill some ale into a pint. She turned around and saw Thorin stand in the doorway with wide eyes. Smiling faintly she put the pint of ale on the table and gestured him to sit.

'Don´t you want to sit down?' she asked with a smirk and watched Thorin move to the table reluctantly. 'The food is not poisoned.'

Thorin smiled at his wifes humor and sat down opposite of her. 'Is there a special occasion?'

'Should there be?' Brann cocked an eyebrow at Thorin. 'Gloin told me that dwarves love red meat of the bone and I found some on the market today.'

Thorin smiled as he remembered his treasurer and felt a slight sting in his heart thinking about the Blue Mountains. He missed his family and friends, but he knew that he had to solve things with Brann first before returning home.

'Thank you.' he murmured quietly and saw Brann nod in return.

'Eat, you look hungry.' Brann had no idea how hungry her husband really was.