I looked up what the color of blue saphires means and I could not believe how much it fit to Thorin (even when he has acted wrongly once ;)).

Brann woke up alone the next morning. Thorins side of the bed was already cold and Brann felt disappointed. She would have loved to wake up together with her husband and maybe continue where they had left off before they had fallen asleep. Carefully Brann touched her lips and dwelled in the memory of her kiss with Thorin. He had been gentle with her and Brann had felt him hold back. During the kiss she had been reminded of her first kiss with Frerin and she felt guilty. She felt guilty because she had not loved Frerin, but he had loved her. And she felt guilty for longing for Thorin, although he had not even been a faithful husband, while Frerin had died protecting her mother.

But now Brann and Thorin were married. And Brann was determined to make their marriage work. With a sigh she left the bed and slowly changed into her warm clothes. Winter would be over in a few weeks and she could already feel the days grow warmer, but the rain made her feel chilly and uncomfortable. Brann opened the window for some fresh air and flipped the pillows and the sheets of their bed as she felt something warm and heavy over her shoulders. She looked down onto her shoulders, onto a blue coat with a fur collar. Turning around she faced Thorin who looked at her with a smiled ghosting his lips.

'The color of the line of Durin suits you, woman.' Thorin stated with a satisfied expression. 'It will keep you warm when you go outside.'

'Thank you.' Brann smiled warmly and moved her hand over the soft fur of her new coat. 'Its beautiful.' Her hand brushed over something heavy inside of the coat and she looked at Thorin with a cocked eyebrow. 'Whats this?'

Thorin tried to give her an innocent look and took a deep breath as Brann pulled out a small dagger and glared at him. 'Its just a small dagger. You can use it to cut herbs and ... other things.'

'Such as?' Brann was amused but at the same time she was irritated that Thorin tried to force a weapon on her.

Such as the genitals of a certain ranger. Thorin bit his lip to not say this out loud. The ranger would come around lunchtime to pick up the sword and Thorin hoped that he could distract him with the presence of the carpenters wife and her daughters. He had already talked to Elsa this morning.

'I only want you to be safe.' Thorins voice was soft as he spoke his mind freely this time and Brann could hear the honesty in his voice. She loved that he started to share his feelings with her, but on the other hand it made it difficult to stay angry at him.

'I will not hurt anyone.' Brann told him determinately. She put the small dagger back into its leather socket inside of the coat and glanced at Thorin. 'And I feel safe as long as I am here with you.'

Thorins eyes widened at his wifes trust. He felt guilty because he did not feel as if he earned her trust and swallowed hard. 'I will not let anything happen to you. Ever.' he told her and cupped her cheek in his hand. Brann leaned into the callous touch and smiled faintly.

'I know.' she said quietly and sighed deeply.

Thorin could not understand. 'Why do you trust me, woman? I have done nothing so far to earn it.'

Brann looked at him with big eyes. 'You are joking? You took me back to the Blue Mountains and you gave me a home. A home and a family. You took care of me and made me your queen without even knowing if I was suitable. By accepting me as your queen you trusted me more than anyone before. As far as the other thing is concerned...' Brann took a deep breath. They both knew what she was talking about. 'You are starting to make up for it.' she smirked at Thorin and walked into the kitchen, leaving Thorin speechless. He was about to follow her as somebody knocked on their door. Thorin went to open it and looked into the big eyes of Rose and Margeret, the carpenters daughters.

'Master Thorin.' the older one, Rose, mumbled. 'My mother send us to give you these.' she strechted out her hands and handed him flowers. 'Brann told us at the market that she would accept those as a payment. We are aware that its not even close to a real payment, but my mother wanted us to give the flowers to your wife anyway.'

Thorin looked at the flowers in his hands and did not know what to say. He did not even know what kind of flowers they were. 'Thank you.' he managed to say. Being at a loss he turned to Brann who looked at him with an amused expression.

'Thank you very much, you two.' Brann came to her husbands aid. 'I love them!'

Little Margeret looked up at Brann with big eyes. 'I bet Master Thorin has given you more beautiful flowers than we have, but we hope you like them anyway!'

Thorin gave Brann a confused look and Brann only smiled. 'They are beautiful, little one. Tell your mother my thanks and we will see you at lunch, alright?'

The two girls left with a smile and Brann quickly but the flowers into a jar of water while Thorin was still musing.

'Why should I give you flowers?' he asked Brann after a while.

'Well...they think since we are married you would have courted me with presents as flowers or other pretty things. Men give their beloved ones flowers to show them how much they mean to them.' Brann explained. 'My brothers even tended to give their girls flowers when they had screwed up, as a sort of amendment.

Thorin saw Branns face become sad and he realised that she missed her family as much as he missed his. Just that unlike her he still had a part of his family. He tried to divert his wife by talking more about flowers.

'Isn´t it...I mean...its not for eternity.' he said and Brann cocked an eyebrow at him. 'Why are men giving their beloved ones flowers which will dry out eventually? And by picking the flowers they are killing them.'

For the first time Brann smiled at him widely. Thorin did have a point. And she found it rather sweet that he cared about the flowers being killed when they were picked. 'What are dwarves giving their beloved ones?'

'Jewels, silver, gold...' Thorins mind drifted off for a moment, remembering his grandfather whose posession of gold had become a sickness over the years. 'Beads...weapons.'

Brann looked at Thorin in surprise. The small dagger...she pulled it out from underneath her coat and took a closer look at it. The grip was made of silver and in the middle Thorin had engraved the sign of Durin. On the top of the dagger Thorin had attached a small blue saphire.

'The color blue, the color of your line, is a meaningful one.' Brann murmured. 'Blue stands for the sky and water. Blue stands for loyalty, faithfulness, freedom, openess, respect and responsibility.'

Thorin felt a sting at her words. He knew that she was right, but it also reminded him of how unfaithful he had been to her.

'Is that a promise, Thorin?' Brann asked him forwardly and felt excitement waiting for his answer.

Thorin walked over to his wife and took her face into his hands. 'This is a promise, Brann.' he whispered and for the first time that day he kissed his wife tenderly.

Brann grabbed Thorins collar and kissed him back hungrily. She had longed for the touch of his lips the whole morning and moaned quietly as his lips brushed hers, not knowing what she was doing to Thorin in that moment. His wifes moans against his lips heated Thorins blood and he had to control himself to not push her against the kitchen counter behind them. His hand moved behind her neck and held her close as his tongue brushed over her lips, gently asking for entry to her mouth. Brann had no idea what he was doing an pulled back slighty as she felt his tongue on her. She looked at him with a startled expression and Thorin had to remind himself that Brann was still untouched, in every aspect. He moved closer to her again, not breaking the eye contact before kissing her again, this time his tongue licked over her lips and gently forced them open. The tip of his tongue moved over her teeth before passing to her mouth, finding the tip of her tongue and slowly starting playing with her. He teased and tangled with her tongue until Brann had figured out what she was supposed to do and started licking back shyly. After a while Thorin deepened the kiss and buried his hands in Branns hair. Branns hands moved over his torso, sending hot flashes over his spine and into his groin. They had to break the kiss to catch their breath and Thorin marvelled in the sight of Branns red lips, swollen from the kissing. Her eyes had become dark with passion and for the first time Thorin asked himself if she was a more passionate and fiery than he might expect. She had surprised him often enough. She had yelled at Dwalin and stood her ground against Dara. She had met Dain on eye level and had managed to handle Thorins hot head very well. Brann was stronger than she looked like and a supressed fire burned in her eyes. A fire Thorin looked forward burning in.

Brann took a deep breath and smiled softly at her husband. 'Hungry?' she asked and her eyes widened at the sight of Thorins look growing dark and lustful.

'Very.' Thorin whispered and smiled at Branns blush. 'But if you mean breakfast I could use some of that, too.'

Brann smiled and pressed her lips against Thorins for a last time, before pulling back and turning to the kitchen. Thorin felt as if he needed a cold bath and tried to focus on his work today. Breakfast passed fast and silently and as they were finished Thorin kissed Brann goodbye before he left for the smithy. Brann stayed at the table for a while longer, collecting her thoughts. She was confused. Thorin made her heart race and her stomach twitch. Brann could not stop thinking about him and wanted nothing more than to stay with him and kiss him forever. Of course she knew that there was more between a man and a woman - or in this case a dwarf and a woman - than kissing, but Brann was too afraid to think of such things. She had once walked in on her oldest brother doing it with a girl he liked and it had been really awkward. Both had been caught in their ecstasy and had not noticed Brann who stared at them in shock. Her brothers girl had enjoyed him pumping into her and according to her moans and cries it must have been wonderful. Brann could not really understand it, but she had felt a hot twitch between her legs and that had embarassed her greatly. She had turned around and run, only to be haunted of the pictures of her brother making love to this girl. The thought of doing this with Thorin scared Brann, but at the same time she wanted to know. Taking a deep breath Brann stood up and shook her head to clear her head. She started to prepare the meal for Thorin, herself and the carpenters family, trying not to think about Thorin at all. She was not successful.

Thorin looked out of the smithys window as Brann and the carpenters wife, Elsa, entered their house, chatting and laughing. Thorin realised how much Brann must have longed after a friend. She and Dis had become close, but sometimes Thorin had the feeling that Brann needed more than a sister in law with whom she could talk. Brann had Elsas little daughter on her hip and Thorin could not help but think how wonderful she looked with children. As the door closed behind them Thorin focused on the lone person walking down the street towards the smithy and frowned. The ranger was coming to get his sword. Thorin took a deep breath and took the weapon into his hands and walked out to meet the ranger.

'I see that you have finished, Master Dwarf. As you promised.' the ranger greeted him.

'I stick to my promises.' Thorin grumbled and thought of one particular promise in this moment. He could see the rangers eyes scanning the area.

'Tell me, Master Dwarf, where is your lovely wife today?' the ranger grinned at Thorin and walked around him.

'This is none of your business.' Thorin snarled and handed the sword to the ranger, hoping that he would take it and leave.

The ranger only cocked an eyebrow at him and tossed a small sac with coins towards Thorin. The second half of the payment.

'May you have a safe trip.' Thorin murmured and hoped that the ranger would leave Bree, but he was mistaken.

'Oh, haven´t you heard Master Dwarf?' the ranger smirked at him. 'Me and my fellow rangers will stay in Bree and guard and protect its inhabitants. The roads have become dangerous and orcs and other scum have gotten close to Bree. We will see to it that all of Brees inhabitants will stay safe.'

Thorin closed his eyes in defeat for a split second. There was no way this man would stop being after Brann. And now he was even trusted with the protection of Bree. Balling his hands into fists Thorin looked at the ranger and tried to keep a steady voice.

'What an honorable assignment.' he muttered and saw the ranger nod.

'I am very happy with your service, Master Dwarf. I will return with new work orders for you in the future.' the ranger looked at Thorin with a false smile. Both knew that Brann was the person of interest and Thorin felt a shiver run down his back as he looked into the rangers eyes. This man was dangerous. He only hoped that Brann would not fall into his hands.

'Have a good day.' Thorin grumbled and turned to his house.

'Have a good day, Master Dwarf. And please, tell your wife my respects.' the ranger smirked and also turned around, visibly disappointed to not have met Brann. Thorin fumed and walked to his home for lunch although he had just lost his appetite. He slammed the door and made the two women and girls jump.

'Is everything alright? What happened?' Brann asked instantly, seeing the wild look in her husbands eyes.

But Thorin was not ready to discuss the matter of the ranger in front of their visitors. 'Its nothing, just a straining customer. I apologise for having startled my ladies.' he bowed before Rose and Margeret and made them giggle. 'Elsa, I hope your husband is well?'

'Very well, thank you, master dwarf.' Elsa told him thankfully. 'Your wifes salve is doing wonders.'

'By the way, thank you for the flowers Elsa.' Brann remembered. 'They are beautiful.'

'Its far too little payment for what you are doing for us.' Elsa started, but Brann waved her hand to stop her.

'I am sure that some day you will repay us, maybe with your friendship?' Brann smiled and Thorin felt drawn to his wife even more. She had such a good heart and once again Thorin asked himself what he had done to deserve such a loving creature as his wife.

'I would like that.' Elsa answered and tears filled her eyes.

Brann noticed and changed the subject. 'Now, who wants stew?'

Thorin could not fight a small laugh as Elsas daughters called out meeeeeeeee! and rushed over to Brann with their bowls. He could see Elsa look at him and Brann and silently mouth the words thank you. He nodded and walked over to Brann to fill the bowl of their visitor and Branns, before taking his own. They exchanged a look, a look which caused Elsa to smile lightly. She remembered when her husband and herself had exchanged such looks, it was shortly before they had gotten married. They had been in love and now she could see the same loving sparks in Thorins and Branns eyes. As to the other people in Bree, the dwarven - human couple was strange to Elsa, but she could spot love when she saw it. It was just a small spark, but it was there. Not for the first time Elsa wondered how those two had met and why they had married. It was clear to her that they had not been in love from the start and the awkward tension between the dwarf and his wife had been more than obvious when they had first arrived in Bree. That, of course, had given room for many rumors and speculation and her husband Dorn had heard that a ranger from the city guards had laid eyes on Brann and bragged about getting her to succumb to his advances in the Inn. Well, he should not be so sure of himself, Elsa smirked.